Sterling’s recovery from its historic low against the dollar in September seemed to have stalled towards the end of last week. The BoE’s gloomy economic outlook following Thursday’s rate hike was a contributing factor as it pointed to the prospect of UK interest rates rising at a much slower rate than in the eurozone and US; something international investors wouldn’t be very keen on.
This morning the Bank of England’s Sarah Breeden spoke at 9am following the Bank’s recent interest rate decision. BoE policymakers voted by a majority of 7-2 to raise Britain’s interest rate by 75 basis points during its November meeting last Thursday. This pushed the country’s interest rate to 3%, raising borrowing costs to their highest levels in 14 years.
Britain is expected to see the biggest nursing strike in NHS history in the coming weeks. Nurses have voted in favour of the industrial strikes however Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden said the country has “well-oiled contingencies in place” to deal with strikes.
With current market volatility, we believe it has never been more important to share recommendations and collaborate with other businesses. Make a Smart referral today and receive a £200 Amazon voucher as thank you. There is now less than one month until our prize draw closes. Refer a business here.
The S&P’s global construction PMI for the Eurozone will be released at 9:30 this morning. The index is expected to fall gently to 44.6 from 45.3.
In America, non-farm payroll data on Friday confirmed that the US economy added a higher-than-expected 261K jobs in October. Although this is still the weakest reading since December 2020, this was well above market expectations of 200k. Notable job gains came from health care services, as well as professional and technical services.
This week, markets will be watching closely for the latest US inflation data which will be announced on Thursday.
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.
