December’s retail sales data has disappointed expectations, encouraging a sell-off in the Pound Sterling throughout today’s trading session. Snapping a near-perfect week of gains for the domestic currency, the Pound traded at times on half of one percent weaker on an intraday basis. The headline figure of house hold goods was down some 2.3% with sales for the period of Q4 registering a 0.2% fall. From a technical perspective it is arguable that the Pound was due a correction following sharp appreciation based upon fundamental changes to the macroeconomic environment. However, it is largely undisputed that the damning picture painted by the data has generated a gradual headwind to today’s trade. The FTSE100 has rallied admirably today in the face of a weaker Pound Sterling despite the underwhelming retail performance. British Prime Minister Theresa May has a challenging weekend ahead of her before she presents her plan, or rather plans, ‘B’. Voting will not be held on May’s alternatives before the 29th January, however, make no mistake, financial positioning in the foreign exchange markets will be virtually instant as participants express their feeling about the permissibility and productivity of plans at the time of unveiling. May has held conversations with her European counterparts with limited reported concession building taking place, leaving Sterling unable to secure another winning day.
Discussion and Analysis by Charles Porter
UK Housing Market Plenty of comment about the UK’s housing market and where it is headed, but maybe it’s time to boil down the essentials for the next year: with rates higher and unemployment likely to rise, conventional wisdom suggests that the housing market will fall. However, there are two key differences to recent previous […]
US Economy The US job figures on Friday most certainly set the cat among the pigeons: with non farm payrolls expected to be up by 187,000 and the market’s expectation that Chairman Powell of the Federal Reserve was talking the talk rather than walking the walk when he had said last Wednesday that rates were […]
Blinkers Today is the day that the ECB and Bank of England meet. Spreads in the spot, forward and options markets are all reflecting a degree of uncertainty and exhibiting volatility already. As we have mentioned, both central banks are widely expected to pursue a 50-basis point hike but the higher conviction call within these […]