020 7898 0500The dollar climbed to its highest level against the pound since September 2017 yesterday, following some surprising inflation rate data from the UK. However, there was some surprising data from the US too, as building permits in June decreased by 2.2% when they had been expected to increase by 2.2%.
Mortgage applications decreased by 2.5%, while housing starts suffered their biggest drop since November 2016. Still, the data wasn’t enough to make the dollar slide. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave his second day of testimony to Congress, where he discussed the current trade situation. He said that rising world protectionism would pose a risk to the US over time. Still, Powell could have been more damning of Trump’s trade policies, as he steered clear of direct criticism of the man who appointed him.
Today we will see initial jobless claims up to 14 July 2018, but otherwise, it is a fairly quiet day on the economic data front.
