GBP: UK car production falls 13% in August

There were no economic data releases on the schedule yesterday, but figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed that the number of cars being produced in the UK fell for the third consecutive month in August. According to the trade body,...


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Markets react to Fed rate hike

Given that the Federal Reserve announced its interest rate decision at around 7pm BST on Wednesday evening, the market reaction was always likely to spill over into the following day and possibly even beyond that. As expected, rates were hiked by 25 basis points to a...


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EUR: Italy’s budget deficit row weakens the euro

Reports of a fresh row in Italy’s new government weakened the euro at the start of trading yesterday. There is speculation that the Italian government will attempt to increase next year’s budget deficit which could cause some problems with the European Commission. The...


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USD: GDP growth rate as expected at 4.2%

The big release of the day from the US was the final reading of the GDP growth rate for the second quarter of 2018. It was expected to be the same as the previous reading of 4.2% and it proved just so. The dollar continued to push higher against sterling and the euro...


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