020 7898 0500Economic data was a little mixed yesterday, as although UK finance mortgage approvals came in better than expected, they still showed a slowdown of 0.9% compared with the same time last year. Still, we should be thankful for small mercies and the fact that British banks approved 40,541 mortgages in June 2018 to hit its highest level since September 2017 is certainly a positive.
The Confederation of British Industry’s distributive trades survey fell to 20 in July from 35 the month before, but it was still better than the 15 the markets had been expecting. Retail sales growth expanded at a healthy rate in the year to July, but the outlook is weaker than before. The extended period of good weather is helping to encourage shoppers to put their hands in their pockets, but retailers expect sales volumes and orders to flatten out next month.
There are no major economic data releases scheduled for the UK today, so any sterling movements are likely to come from events elsewhere, or perhaps some Brexit developments.
