020 7898 0500Despite the fact the dollar actually managed to make some slight gains against sterling to buck a recent trend, it continued its pretty miserable start to 2018 but slipping against a basket of major currencies. The dollar index measures the greenback against a raft of major currencies and posted its lowest figure.
There are a range of possible reasons, but fears of an imminent US government shutdown were mounting and unsettling investors. Then, over the weekend we learned that those fears had been realised. It is the first shutdown for more than four years and has largely been brought about through a disagreement between Republicans and Democrats over government funding and young immigrants facing deportation. Curiously, it is also the first time the US government has shutdown when one party controls all three branches of government.
The only real release of note on Friday was the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment which fell to 94.4 in January from 95.9 in December. It had been expected to increase to 97 and is the lowest reading in six months.
It’s a very quiet start to the week, but existing home sales for December come Wednesday, while new home sales for the same month come in on Thursday. We will also see the initial jobless claims up to 20 January 2018 and it will be interesting to see whether they can come in as positive as they did last week when they hit their lowest mark for 45 years.
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