Sterling strengthened at the start of the week against almost all major currencies. Against the euro sterling rose just over 0.5% yesterday and by double that against the US dollar. Only the Norwegian krone (NOK) did better.
Early data from British high streets and retail parks showed a sharp increase in footfall as shops reopened last week, reaching to within 24% of the level from January 2020 and 2019 according to two separate reports.
This morning’s eye-catching data is that unemployment in the midst of the UK’s winter lockdown was less bad than expected at 4.9%. The number of people working in the UK fell by 73,000 in the three months to February 2021. This is less than half the level expected, and seems likely to be a boost to sterling, even with average earnings slightly disappointing at 4.5% against an expectation of 4.8%.
This busy week for important data continues tomorrow with inflation and, more importantly, Consumer Confidence on Friday.
