Sterling starts on the upswing, hovering around its best rate for the past year, as fears over the Omicron variant of Covid-19 dissipate and the markets look forward to more interest rate rises this year.
Sterling has gained well over 7% over the course of the year to be among the best performing major currencies.
At the start of the year it’s tempting to frame in one’s mind how the year will pan out, so data this week could set the tone. There is a lot of data for the markets to chew on for USD and EUR, less so for GBP.
We have to wait another month for the interest rate decisions from the Bank of England (BoE) and European Central Bank (ECB), both of whom make their announcements on 3rd February, while the US Federal Reserve FOMC meets on 28th and 29th January.
In the business news, stock markets in Europe and the US hit a new record, as demand powers ahead and supply chain bottlenecks ease.
Meanwhile, yesterday in a New York court Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty of fraud over her failed blood-testing company Theranos.
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