It was a fairly quiet day on financial markets yesterday as traders geared up for the main event later on in the week – the Federal Reserve’s long-awaited September interest rate decision.
However, there is one piece of key British data due for release today and that’s August’s CPI report. The majority of market players expect the headline inflation rate to slow from 0.1% to 0.0%, which could soften demand for the Pound as it would likely be seen as a sign that inflation prospects are not strong enough to warrant …

After Japanese company Mitsui Sumitomo announced plans to take over the British insurance firm Amlin, in a deal reportedly worth 3.5 billion Pounds, Sterling extended Monday’s gains against peers like the Euro and US Dollar. If this morning’s UK Manufacturing and Industrial Production figures print positively, the Pound could push higher still ahead of tomorrow’s Bank of England (BoE) interest rate decision.
Euro
Although the Eurozone’s second quarter growth data revealed a stronger-than-anticipated rate of quarterly and annual expansion in the three months through June, the Euro failed to exert …

The Pound remained at elevated levels against most of the majors yesterday as Tuesday’s sturdy second quarter UK GDP report continued to bolster demand. Sterling also garnered support following the release of mortgage data yesterday showing that loans for house purchases increased by the most in almost seven years in June. The 66,582 surge in mortgage approvals reflects renewed confidence in the housing market following the Conservative’s election victory in May, which prevented Labour laying out new measures to tax big spend house purchases.
Other than the GfK consumer confidence …

The Pound got off to a slow start against the majors yesterday but demand grew during the afternoon ahead of this morning’s UK GDP report. The data due for release from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is tipped to show an encouraging acceleration of economic activity in the second quarter. British GDP printed at 0.4% in Q1 but markets anticipate a much better score of 0.7% for Q2. The report is likely to have a significant impact on sentiment towards Sterling this week as a soft figure could potentially …

It was a fairly inconsequential day on the currency markets yesterday as traders received practically no new economic data to get their teeth stuck into. The only British release saw Rightmove’s house price index rise from 4.5% to 5.1%. Needless to say, but it traders were not rushing to their desks to readjust their Bank of England rate hike bets following the announcement.
There is little to look out for today either, although this morning’s UK public sector net borrowing figures could tip the Pound in the right direction if the …

This morning’s UK consumer price index is expected to show that price pressures slowed from 0.1% to 0.0% last month. If the data prints inline with economists’ forecasts then we could see Sterling tumble against some of the majors as Bank of England rate hike projections are adjusted. However, the impact of the timid CPI score could be reduced because tomorrow’s UK labour market report is projected to show robust growth in average wages.
The unemployment rate is likely to remain at a seven-year low of 5.5% but weekly earnings …

Sentiment towards GBP improved yesterday thanks to a better-than-anticipated upward revision to the UK’s first quarter growth figures. The quarterly score was upgraded from 0.3% to 0.4% and this drove the annualised figure up from 2.5% to 2.9%. It was also reported that the British economy expanded by 3.0% in 2014, which was the fastest rate of growth since 2006.
Although the Q1 figures still point to growth around half as fast as in the second half of 2014, analysts are optimistic that the economy will pick up the pace as …