020 7898 0500Another tough day for sterling saw it lose value across the board, despite strong economic data giving it a temporary lift first thing. Following an adverse reaction to the latest poll on Scottish Independence, investors were keeping a close eye on the release of the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) from the services industry. This showed that, in contrast to the slowdown in the manufacturing industry, growth in the UK services sector surged throughout August. We saw a brief boost in the value of sterling following this announcement, although the previous day’s downward trend soon continued apace, pushing sterling to its lowest level against the US dollar in 7 months. Performance against the euro was equally as poor, with disappointing retail sales data from the Eurozone being largely ignored.
Today sees the release of the latest interest rate decision from the Bank of England. With this figure not expected to change, there is unlikely to be much reaction in the markets.
