The pound is weaker against the dollar this morning after weakening at the end of last week. This came due to high inflation figures from the US and poor economic data from the UK, which has been released this morning.
The data shows that the British economy shrank 0.3% month-on-month in April, following a 0.1% contraction in March and missing market expectations of a 0.1% expansion.
Services, manufacturing and construction industries showed contractions in April for a variety of reasons, including supply chain shortages and price increases. A decrease in pandemic-related spending also contributed due to the ending of the test and trace scheme.
This week, the Bank of England will make its latest decision on interest rates. A hike of 25 basis points is expected, which would bring the interest rate to 1.25%.
