SGM-FX insights

Reshuffle   Ahead of the Conservative party conference next month, the Prime Minister has pursued a cabinet reshuffle. Whilst Boris Johnson has maintained strong support amongst his own party, divisions within his cabinet have been evident amidst rising Covid-19 cases and a taxation hike. There were several changes within major offices of state. Liz Truss […]

Vax on, Vax off   The relative calm regarding Covid-19 in the northern hemisphere has allowed economies to open up and realise the potential growth stored up over months of lockdowns and socio-economic restrictions. A good part of the true or at least the attributed root of the ability to open societies and economies once […]

Tax   The technical motion presented to the House of Commons yesterday has been passed by 319 votes to 248. The initiative will see the government move to impose a 1.25% hike in national insurance contributions and taxation on dividend incomes. The impact of taxation upon currency valuations is at present difficult to isolate and […]

A hawk for a hawk makes GBP rise   You may recall that the last Bank of England decision caused some upset within GBP crosses. It was the first decision in quite a while when the Committee was reduced to an eight-strong vote rather than its usual nine members, but it was specifically the absence […]

Deflated   Moving into yesterday’s data release, markets were expecting July inflation to be read in the United Kingdom well in excess of 2%. The consensus forecast was 2.3% versus a previous figure of 2.5% in June. Both headline and core inflation came in far softer than expectations at 2% and 1.8% respectively. The reaction […]

GBP Call   GBP has fallen in a controlled and predictable fashion since its peak right at the beginning of June. The rejection of tighter monetary policy at the bank of England and approaching technical resistance levels north of 1.40 on GBPUSD sealed the short-term fate for Sterling. Now approaching a fragile but extant price […]

It’s still coming home..   But not for the three lions on a shirt. Instead, one line on a chart: retail sales. The release from the latest coronavirus lockdown saw investors, consumers and businesses alike participate in the economy in a way they hadn’t since the pandemic begun. The explosion of demand into markets from […]

Billy No Mates   GBP had been well supported over the past two weeks for two major reasons. One which continues to be true is that the economic fundamentals of the UK economy provide a palatable backdrop for GBP. The other, partially as a result of the former reality but also in anticipation of a […]

Bullseye   If you’re anything like me your bank will also be on the phone to you wondering why you’ve been withdrawing sums of cash from various cash points only to deposit them back into the bank 5 minutes later. As I’ve promised my bank, there is nothing untoward about this behaviour. Rather, I’ve been […]

What’s another month?   Since the latest lockdown began to contain Covid-19 infections and hospitalisations, the market has kept a close eye on the route out of the lockdown. It could have been presumed therefore that the rising rhetoric against the latest and most final step out of the social and economic restrictions could call […]

G7   Having watched Macron receive a slap to the face already this week I’m sure many of the G7 leaders were cautious of receiving theirs (metaphorically or physically) as the summit gets underway this week. Thus far, we have seen headlines that G7 leaders are drawing up plans to collectively provide a billion vaccines […]

June 21   The UK’s ability to stick to its intended path out of the most recent lockdown has provided GBP with support. Had the UK missed those dates set forward in the roadmap out of the pandemic, Sterling crosses would be unlikely to be where they are today. The government’s ability to stick to […]