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 …

With little significant economic data to digest traders refrained from sending Sterling significantly higher against the majors yesterday. Markets were interested in Prime Minister David Cameron’s speech at the EU summit in Brussels but the PM’s vagueness, with regards to what he wants to stay in the union, meant that most market players were not minded to adjust their GBP positions too much following the speech. Most analysts are confident that Britons will vote to remain in the EU but it is anticipated that economic uncertainty in the run-up to …

Sterling fell back below 1.41 against the Euro and lost around half a cent against the US Dollar on Wednesday as global economic developments bolstered the latter two currencies and disappointing UK data undermined demand for Sterling. The BBA Loans for Home Purchase report was the week’s most influential British data so although the figure hit a 14-month high, the fact that it was below forecasts had a slightly detrimental impact on the exhange rate of the Pound. Today’s CBI Reported Sales number may have a modest impact on GBP/EUR, …

Sterling surged higher across the currency board yesterday morning thanks to some better-than-anticipated UK labour market data.
The headline unemployment rate held firm at a six-and-a-half-year low of 5.5% in the three months to April, as expected, but markets were more excited by a surprise jump in British wages from an upwardly revised 2.3% to 2.7%. Including bonuses it was the highest period of wage growth since the summer of 2011 and excluding bonuses it was the steepest incline since the beginning of 2009. Demand for the Pound soared as …