020 7898 05002018 continues to have her wicked way with the pound as it suffered further losses against the dollar but climbed higher against the euro. The truth is that the pound was at the mercy of the economic news gods (whatever they are) yesterday, as the stock market recovery helped dollar strength and news regarding the German grand coalition caused euro weakness. A remarkable year to date.
The main release for the UK was the Halifax house price index which was disappointing, but today has always been the main focus of the week, with the Bank of England set to announce their interest rate decision. Rates will almost certainly be kept on hold but gaining any understanding of future monetary policy will prove fascinating.
Any indication on reduction of quantitative easing in the future would be interesting too, especially given recent market expectations that fiscal stimulus programmes will soon start to be withdrawn.
