Sterling’s difficult pre-Christmas run continued yesterday, as sterling fell close to its lowest level against the euro since October, and against the US dollar since late November.
The losses followed a downward adjustment in the last quarter’s GDP figure from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), to a drop of 0.3%, and an overall year-on-year growth figure of just 1.9%.
Today wraps up a quietish week for UK data as the country prepares for the Christmas weekend. The only key release from the UK today came from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Limited, which released December’s car production data. It showed that Britain’s production rose by 5.7% from last year. While this is less than expected, it nevertheless shows that supply chain and microchip shortages are being solved.
In the latest industrial strike news, UK Border Force staff are striking, potentially closing ports and airports, and being joined by Highways staff and postal workers. The NHS expects a surge in calls over the next coming days too. The interim chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery said they are expecting “a surge in demand for emergency treatment”.
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We’ll see lots of interesting data throughout the eurozone over the course of the morning. We’ve just seen France’s Producer Prices Index rising fast, at 1.2% last month, Spanish GDP also exceeding expectations at 4.4% year on year. At 9am both Italy’s business confidence and consumer confidence will be released.
US market watchers will be keeping a close eye on today’s personal income and spending data, being released this afternoon.
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