020 7898 0500Last week was a difficult week for sterling losing ground across the board apart from against the US dollar where it gained just under two cents as the US became more circumspect on increasing interest rates.
There are relatively few UK announcements this week but special attention should be paid to Tuesday’s inflation data, especially considering the recent drop in global commodity prices. Forecasts suggest year-on year-growth in core inflation of 0.1% which is a reduction from last month’s reading of 0.3%. This rapid fall in inflation has even led to “talk” of the UK reducing UK interest rates so as to combat sterling’s strengthen against the euro, a key trading partner. Thursday sees the release of retail sales data for the month of February, which is expected to show growth of 4.7%, slightly less than last month but still good.
