020 7898 0500A good end to the week for sterling saw it gain ground on the US dollar, as well as recording a fourth straight day of positive movement against the euro. With talks appearing to break down between Greece and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), sterling found itself moving higher across the board as investors looked for the relative safety that sterling offers.
This week sees a number of data releases from the UK, although there is little of note released from the UK today. Tomorrow will see confirmation of the UK inflation level in May. With inflation falling into negative territory in April, investors will be keen to see UK inflation meet expectations and post a 0.1% increase.
Following this, we have the release of average earnings data on Wednesday, followed by minutes from the Bank of England (BoE)’s last monetary policy meeting. This document always has the potential to create market movement, with detailed insight into policy makers’ views on the UK economy. Finally, we have the release of retail sales data on Thursday, where this often-volatile figure is expected to slip into negative territory. Any more positive reading is likely to be well received by markets and see sterling improve.
