Despite falling to a two-month low against the US dollar yesterday afternoon, the pound ended Tuesday pretty much where it started the day against rival currencies.
The pound’s saving grace came from the International Monetary Fund, which has lifted its forecast for UK economic growth this year, in its new World Economic Outlook.
The IMF now predicts the UK economy will grow by 1.1% this year, up from the July forecast of 0.7%. This would make Britain the joint third fasted-growing economy in the G7, in line with France’s predictions and second to the US and Canada.
On a global scale, the IMF expects the world’s full-year growth to remain stable yet underwhelming, expanding by 3.2% in 2024. The major financial agency also revised 2025 growth estimates down to 3.2% from 3.3% previously.
Speaking in New York at the Bloomberg Global Regulatory Forum, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey underlined his concerns for the bank to improve ways to track developments in the non-banking system. He said, “We are going to reach a point and we are reaching a point… where we need to pivot from rulemaking to surveillance.”
New data from the Office for National Statistics revealed the deterioration in the UK’s public finances continued in September, but the pace of decline slowed.
With the US presidential election just two weeks away, investment bank analysts from Goldman Sachs warned that the euro could drop 10% against the US dollar should Trump be victorious and should he impose widespread tariffs and cut domestic taxes.
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