The pound has strengthened against the euro this morning, breaking the 1.17 mark for the first time in two weeks. Sterling is also stronger against the dollar.
Sterling’s fresh strength comes from a combination of comments by Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey around interest rates and the European Central Bank announcing that it will start to slow the pace of its pandemic bond-buying programme.
Speaking on Wednesday, Bailey revealed that during their August meeting, half of the monetary policy committee members thought an interest rate rise would be needed.
In employment news, the number of people on furlough fell to a new pandemic low in July, down 340,000 than the month previous. GDP figures for July were more disappointing, coming in at just 0.1%. Supply chain problems and the ‘pingdemic’ are thought to be behind this.
