020 7898 0500Sterling pushed a little higher yesterday, with the UK housing market showing a glimmer of positivity in what has so far been a cloudy path. Despite the decline that we have seen in mortgage approvals and consumer credit, Nationwide’s house price index picked up slightly for the month of August. The reading posted an increase of 0.6% on a month-on-month basis. This goes against the reading that the Bank of England (BoE) published, which saw that the number of mortgages approved by banks and building societies in July was at its lowest for a year and a half.
Meanwhile the ongoing discussions surrounding Brexit continued to dominate UK headlines as Prime Minister Theresa May stated that the UK would not stay in the EU ‘by the back door’, and that she was committed to making a success of Britain’s ‘new role’ in the world. Whilst the UK economy has so far been resilient to the uncertain path it is being forced down, it is far too early to bring out the bunting and believe we have weathered the storm.
Looking to the day ahead, the manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) is released today and is forecast to improve from last month. However, the sector is still expected to remain in contraction. It is hoped that a weaker sterling will have fuelled export orders and, in turn, manufacturing.
If you are looking to buy or sell sterling, we suggest contacting your trader now for live rates, news and currency-purchasing strategies.
