020 7898 0500As Trump stoked fears over an impending global trade war once more, sterling found itself in the highly undesirable position of hitting a seven-month low against the dollar. The pound has been struggling for some time, and uncertainty over the future of the Brexit bill has weighed heavily on the minds of investors.
However, the escalating trade dispute is likely the major factor behind yesterday’s moves, although the fact that the Bank of England is due to convene on Thursday to announce its interest rate decision on Thursday likely played a part. The markets are currently pricing in less than a 40% chance of a rate hike, although there is around an 80% chance of a hike before the year is out.
Today we will see the CBI industrial trends orders for June which are expected to pick up a little from the previous reading, but all eyes will be on the Brexit bill debate in the House of Commons later this evening, as well as the aforementioned rate decision tomorrow.
