The pound has weakened against both the euro and the dollar this morning.
Dollar strength and rising Covid-19 cases appear to be partly to blame for this weakness. Additionally, there are concerns that the Bank of England may delay its tightening of monetary policy after Wednesday’s inflation figures showed that consumer prices rose by less than expected.
Gfk consumer confidence figures for August fell slightly, from -7 to -8. Nonetheless, Gfk said that the survey was, overall, still upbeat.
Retail sales also fell by 2.5% in July, far from the market expectation of a 0.4% increase. This fall is thought to be attributed to the end of the Euro 2020 football tournament and subsequently fewer people buying food and drink to have at home.
