020 7898 0500Sterling had a relatively quiet week last week as there were no major data releases or political updates. As expected, parliament voted to go ahead with the triggering of Article 50, still scheduled for the end of March. This gave sterling a mini boost. Next on the calendar is the vote in the House of Lords.
This week there is a steady flow of data starting on Tuesday with inflation. This is expected to increase slightly and be just under the target rate of 2%. Costs of import increases caused by sterling weakness are a key driver.
Unemployment data on Wednesday is expected to show a slight improvement in the claimant count and no change in the unemployment rate of 4.8%. On Friday we have Retail Sales data which is also expected to show a slight improvement.
