020 7898 0500A quieter week for sterling following the high drama of the week before and the vote on Scottish Independence but we did see sterling reach a two-year high against the euro. Against the US dollar though sterling did lose ground. With little economic data out of the UK throughout the week to drive movements, sterling found itself influenced by events elsewhere. Performance against the euro was encouraging as manufacturing data and business sentiment from the bloc’s largest economy disappointed. An uncharacteristically candid Mario Draghi warned on Thursday that the European Central Bank (ECB) was considering quantitative easing measures – this news drove sterling to its highest level of the week against the euro.
Sterling struggled more against the US dollar which continues its strong run across the board. Despite Bank of England (BoE) Mark Carney saying on Thursday that the time for interest rates increases was nearer, sterling failed to gain on the dollar as further positive data was released from the US. A quiet day today sees the focus fall back on the US, with final economic growth figures for the previous quarter released.
