Sterling barely moved over the Bank Holiday weekend and starts the working week around 0.5% down on the week against the euro and over 1% down on the US dollar. However, last week’s declines have not been repeated so far.
Friday ended with the central bankers’ symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where the general feeling was that Fed Chair Jerome Powell had been hawkish in his outlook, saying that the Federal Reserve is not finished yet with the job of beating inflation: “We are prepared to raise rates further if appropriate”, he said. European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde echoed his comments, saying that the global economy continued to hold risks of long-lasting inflation.
This week will be relatively quiet for data from the UK, but as people head back to work in Europe there is plenty of data coming out, including inflation across the eurozone.
In the UK’s battle against inflation, figures from the British Retail Consortium show that food inflation fell to its lowest in a year, 11.5%, taking overall price rises down from 8.4% to 6.9%. The Times reports this morning that the public’s trust in supermarkets has fallen to its lowest level for a decade, with only half of shoppers believing that supermarkets act in their best interest.
Also in business news, UK flights remain significantly disrupted after an air traffic control fault led to hundreds of flights being cancelled.
Make sure any upcoming transactions are protected against the risks of sudden market movements. Secure a fixed exchange rate now with a forward contract; call your Personal Trader on 020 7898 0541 to get started.
