GBP: May anniversary and MPC members’ speeches likely to be main market drivers today

It was a quiet day in terms of economic data yesterday. Political updates continue to dictate price action.

Irrespective of the Bank of England’s leaning towards a potential rate hike, political concerns add to uncertainty.

Significantly, since the weekend there have been several comments that may indicate that today could be a more volatile day in the sterling markets. Prime Minister Theresa May will mark her one-year anniversary in office with a major speech that will call for opposition parties to ‘contribute’ to the government’s Brexit plans.

Early indications are that this is not going to go down well as May appears to almost be begging for support following the snap election in which the Conservatives lost their majority in the House of Commons, leaving May in a weakened position.

Two members of the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee will be speaking today. BoE Chief Economist Haldane and BoE Deputy Governor Broadbent will deliver their speeches at separate events. Recent events have taught us that such speeches can quite easily move the pound.