The US government shutdown rolls on into a fresh calendar week following Donald Trump’s threat of permanent layoffs and severe spending cuts for “Democrat” agencies.
Sterling was able to regain half a cent against the US dollar to end last week, while trading mostly sideways against the euro. Alongside the political manoeuvring, news that the American services sector stalled in September gave the pound and the euro time to strengthen before the close of Friday.
The unfolding drama in Washington DC will most likely be centre of attention for currency markets this time out. Judging by all the grandstanding, it’s unlikely we’ll get a quick resolution to the shutdown. Clearly, both sides believe the political brownie points will be worth it, despite predictions that the economy will lose out on billions of dollars for every week some departments remain closed.
This week’s data calendar looks lighter with the absence of labour figures from the US. Halifax will provide their latest update on British house prices tomorrow, following a surprise upgrade in a rival survey. And we’ll see just how long the latest plan for peace in Gaza lasts when representatives from Israel and Hamas meet in Cairo.
Wednesday evening brings the latest minutes from the Federal Reserve’s monetary committee – an event likely to be highly scrutinised given it announced the first cut to interest rates in nine months at September’s meeting.
Germany’s latest balance of trade figures are released on Thursday. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment report follows on Friday, in what should be an interesting release given the present uncertainty.
Keep an eye out this week for our latest Quarterly Forecast, which will be hitting your inbox on Thursday. Please feel free to peruse our previous reports before then, should you wish to get the juices flowing.
And in case you missed it, our sister company Your Overseas Home held its bi-annual virtual event on Saturday. This is a tremendous resource for anyone interested in relocating abroad, so if you’re in the fortunate position of considering a move, you can sign up for the next event or catch up with on-demand sessions by clicking here.
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