020 7898 0500New car sales in the UK fell by 2.8% year-on-year in February, which was the eleventh month in a row that there has been a decline. February sales tend to be slow, as people wait for new registration plates, but the trend is certainly alarming. Uncertainty over the government’s position on diesel cars is not helping matters, as pollution concerns suggests something will be done to counter their environmental impact.
There was some positive news in the form of the services PMI, which came in better than expected at 54.5. This is the highest reading for four months and the pound strengthened as a result. Indeed, it made some decent gains against the euro and dollar.
Theresa May’s request for Donald Trump to reconsider his plan to impose large tariffs on steel and aluminium imports appears to have fallen on deaf ears, as Trump Tweeted that it was ‘time for change’. The idea that May was ever going to get the most powerful man in the world to rethink his proposals was fanciful at best.
