020 7898 0500An extremely eventful Wednesday for currency pairings yesterday saw sterling climb to a level within 5% of that seen in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. Dollar weakness since the turn of the year is not only continuing – it appears to be in freefall. Mnuchin’s comments didn’t help matters and neither does the fears of another US government shutdown on 8 February (the date at which current agreed government funding ends).
UK unemployment figures posted another strong reading and remain at a 42-year low, with figures showing the biggest increase in employment since the period up to July 2017. The pound performed admirably against the euro too, but that could easily change today if the European Central Bank strike a hawkish tone in their press conference today. We will have to wait and see.
Today we have mortgage approvals, but tomorrow is the main highlight of the week for UK economic data, with the Gross Domestic Product growth rate for the fourth quarter of 2017 set for release. While there are those that deny the accuracy of the methods employed, it should still provide a handy overview of how well the economy performed towards the end of 2017.
