It was quite a busy day in the UK on Friday, with several economic data releases on the schedule. Public sector net borrowing figures showed that the UK’s budget deficit narrowed to £6.35 billion in November 2018 from £7.24 billion in the same month a year before. The figure was smaller than the £7.05 billion gap that was expected.
We also the Gfk consumer confidence reading for December which, as expected, dropped to -14 from -13 the month before. There are obviously still some concerns over the Brexit negotiations, which is reflected in the recent reading being the lowest since July 2013. Expectations about the economy over the next 12 months have fallen to their lowest mark since December 2011.
The final readings of the GDP growth rate for the third quarter of 2018 remained unchanged at 0.6% on a quarterly basis and 1.5% on an annual basis. The pound did OK against the euro and moves against the dollar were fairly muted throughout the day. As expected, there are no releases today, so enjoy your final day of work before the Christmas break and enjoy spending time with your loved ones!
