The pound showed some signs of nervousness yesterday, with an overall choppy day against both the euro and US dollar. This comes ahead of the BoE’s looming interest rate decision on Thursday.
We will get a better picture of the UK housing market today with the latest mortgage lending figures. Mortgage approvals will also be released, providing clues on future borrowing.
According to the IMF, Britain’s economy will contract by 0.6%, which contrasts with earlier estimates of 0.3% growth. This means the UK is expected to be the only G7 nation to see its economy shrink this year.
We’ve just seen the latest year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter GDP data for France. The YoY figures expanded 50% while the QoQ rate expanded by 0.1%. Meanwhile, Spain’s inflation rose to 5.8% yesterday, which will no doubt feed into the European Central Bank’s decision on Thursday.
The quarterly and yearly figures for the eurozone’s gross domestic product data are both expected to increase.
Over in the US, all eyes will be on the Federal Reserve tomorrow as it decides on America’s latest interest rate. Recent comments from the Fed’s chair, Jerome Powell, prepped markets for the prospect of higher hikes.
Powell said, “price stability is the bedrock of a healthy economy and provides the public with immeasurable benefits over time.” He continued with a warning that “restoring price stability when inflation is high can require measures that are not popular in the short term as we raise interest rates to slow the economy,”.
The Fed is expected to raise interest further in Wednesday’s meeting.
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