020 7898 0500Another great day for the dollar yesterday which climbed to its highest mark against sterling since the beginning of the year. The move came as a result of a few factors, including underwhelming economic data from the UK, as well as positive data from the US. The Markit manufacturing PMI for April had been forecast to come in at 55.0, but it actually hit 56.5 – the strongest pace of expansion since September 2014.
Trump also took a step back from launching a trade war by reaching ‘agreements in principle’ with Argentina, Australia and Brazil to exempt them from the steel and aluminium announced earlier this year. The US has also postponed its decision on whether to place tariffs on EU imports for another month; the uncertainty continues which could create some euro volatility.
Later tonight, the Federal Reserve will meet to announce its interest rate decision. Rates are expected to be kept on hold but indications of future policy could cause currency movements. We will also see employment change data for April.
