020 7898 0500The only economic data release of note from the UK yesterday was the UK mortgage approvals for May, which showed that British banks approved 39,244 mortgages from an upwardly revised 38,327 the month before. The markets had been expecting 38,200 approvals, so the figures were good and represent the highest level for four months.
In sharp contrast to this bit of positivity came a warning from the Chief Executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Michael Hawes. He warned Theresa May that 860,000 jobs could be at risk for the car manufacturing industry unless the government remains in the customs union ‘as a minimum’, with a deal that delivers ‘single market benefits’.
Hawes’ comments came a few hours after BMW confirmed it would have to close its UK production sites if car components were caught up in customs delays after Brexit. There are now just nine months until the UK leaves the European Union, so a resolution would certainly be better sooner rather than later.
Today we will see the CBI distributive trades for June, as well as the BoE’s latest financial stability report. Governor Mark Carney is also set to deliver a speech and it will be interesting to see whether he has anything to add to comments made by Haskel and McCafferty yesterday.
