Britain’s pound rebounded from its biggest weekly drop in a year on Monday as stronger labour costs data hardened expectations of higher interest rates, and after Prime Minister Theresa May vowed to ward off challenges to her leadership.
British labour costs have been growing more strongly than previously announced, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, adding to the case for a first interest rate hike by the Bank of England in more than a decade.
Expectations of interest rate hikes have grown in recent weeks after the BoE signalled it was prepared to increase rates in the “coming months” in mid-September.
Her political troubles have driven GBPUSD down to 1.30 and with no major U.K economic reports on the calendar in the coming week investors will be watching the 1.30 level closely to see if it holds or breaks.
May, meanwhile, hinted at the weekend that she may be considering a cabinet reshuffle to reassert her authority, raising questions over the fate of foreign minister and Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson, who has been accused of undermining her.
The pound has become more sensitive to political noise in recent months and some strategists said Johnson’s departure, if it happens, could increase the chances of a “soft Brexit”, which might be positive for sterling in the short term.
Britain and its European Union partners clashed on Monday over which side should make the next move to unblock Brexit talks, despite concerns they will miss a deadline for a divorce deal and that London is heading for a chaotic departure.
The EU’s lack of willingness to begin talks over a new special relationship highlights the need for the UK government to prepare more intensively for a no deal scenario even if it is not the desired outcome.
British labour costs have been growing more strongly than previously announced, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, adding to the case for a first interest rate hike by the Bank of England in more than a decade.
Expectations of interest rate hikes have grown in recent weeks after the BoE signalled it was prepared to increase rates in the “coming months” in mid-September.
Her political troubles have driven GBPUSD down to 1.30 and with no major U.K economic reports on the calendar in the coming week investors will be watching the 1.30 level closely to see if it holds or breaks.
May, meanwhile, hinted at the weekend that she may be considering a cabinet reshuffle to reassert her authority, raising questions over the fate of foreign minister and Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson, who has been accused of undermining her.
The pound has become more sensitive to political noise in recent months and some strategists said Johnson’s departure, if it happens, could increase the chances of a “soft Brexit”, which might be positive for sterling in the short term.
Britain and its European Union partners clashed on Monday over which side should make the next move to unblock Brexit talks, despite concerns they will miss a deadline for a divorce deal and that London is heading for a chaotic departure.
The EU’s lack of willingness to begin talks over a new special relationship highlights the need for the UK government to prepare more intensively for a no deal scenario even if it is not the desired outcome.
0.4% 0.2% 0.4%
In the three months to August 2017, the Index of Production was estimated to have increased...
www.ons.gov.uk/econo...roduction/august2017