020 7898 0500The big release of yesterday was the US inflation figure which was expected to come in at 2.7% for May from 2.5% the month before. However, it surprisingly came in at 2.8% which is the highest figure since February 2012. It essentially means that the Fed will increase interest rates when they convene later tonight in a bid to curb inflation and get the figure nearer to the 2% target rate.
Given this, it was a little surprising that sterling strengthened against the dollar, but this could simply be a bounceback from the levels GBP/USD has recently shown. It certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see a retracing tomorrow, especially if comments made at the Fed press conference signal further rate hikes later this year.
Finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention Trump’s meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. From poring over newspaper reports from around the world, it appears that the general feeling is that it smacks of a waster opportunity. For, while it is true that Kim has committed to denuclearisation, there is no real substance behind the commitment, with no timescales mentioned, or methods of achieving it.
