Currency Note Sterling

Will this week’s data stop sterling’s slide?

By Ricky Bean October 14th, 2013

Sterling finished off last week on a negative note, as a report released showed that construction output from the UK had fallen in August, out of line with expectations. As a result, sterling hit its lowest level in six weeks against the euro, as well suffering losses against the US dollar. Today starts sterling’s week in quiet fashion with no significant data being released. But things pick up on Tuesday with the release of inflation data for September and we can expect volatility in sterling exchange rates to increases given the importance of this data. Wednesday maintains this level of intensity, with two more important results in the form of the claimant count change and the unemployment rate. This second is of much interest, given its ties to the Bank of England’s forward guidance. Thursday weighs in with data of its own, as retail sales for the month are due, while Friday winds down the week in a much less busy fashion, with no UK data providing a quiet bookend to the five days. Call your trader now, on a quiet day in an otherwise busy week.