Following the release of the inflation figures from the UK, the pound surged against the dollar and climbed above the $1.32 mark. However, in the afternoon, reports emerged that May had rejected Europe’s offer of a solution to the Irish border problem. The pound promptly slumped and the dollar retraced all of its losses and moved higher against sterling.
In the US, it was fairly quiet, but we did see building permits drop 5.7% from the previous month. The markets were expecting a far more modest dip of 0.1%. Permits hit the lowest level since May 2017.
Later this afternoon, we will see existing home sales for August and initial jobless claims up to 15 September 2018. Last time around, the reading was the lowest figure since December 1969 and it will be interesting to see if it can beat that.
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