020 7898 0500At the end of last week sterling remained on the back foot as the Services Purchasing Managers Index disappointed. The headline figure missed expectations and showed that the sector slowed for the first time in four months.
This follows drops in the PMI for the construction and manufacturing sectors announced earlier in the week. The worse than expected figures could be a first sign of a slowdown in the UK economy.
Sterling had already retreated after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney failed to mention the possibility of an interest rate hike during his press conference last week.
The most significant data releases this week are the manufacturing production numbers. Politics, not data, is likely to take centre stage though.
This morning the British Chamber of Commerce released a report which highlights why currency risk management is so important. The report is based on a survey which found that while a quarter of British exporters said the weak pound had aided their exports, nearly as many stated that it has negatively affected the profitability of their overseas sales, which indicated that they may not have had a currency risk management strategy in place.
