020 7898 0500The majority of Scottish voters voted against independence from the UK last Thursday, with results reported early on Friday morning. The hangover from the Scottish Independence vote saw sterling fall away throughout trading on Friday after hitting a two-year high against the euro, and the highest levels against the US dollar in 2 weeks. This advance against the US dollar was soon wiped out as investor focus fell back on UK economic fundamentals.
Following the turmoil seen in the markets due to the independence referendum and Bank of England releases, the week ahead looks to be much quieter with the release of only a small volume of UK economic data. The first data set from the UK is released on Tuesday in the form of mortgage approvals from the British Bankers Association. Although this has generally a muted market impact, it does give an overview of the number of buyers entering the housing market. Further housing data will be seen on Thursday, as Nationwide release their report on housing inflation. Having increased throughout August, investors will look for further growth in this sector. With no major data from the UK this week, most movement is likely to be driven by events elsewhere as well as seeing further corrections to the markets following the Scottish referendum.
