- Pound holds against major currencies
- Bank of Canada expected to hold rates at 0.50%
Yesterday saw the Pound put in another day of modest gains across the board. GBP-EUR and GBP-USD both spent the morning hovering around 1.17 and 1.24 respectively. UK March Consumer Price Index results largely met expectations at 2.3% from forecast 2.2% and 0.4% month-on-month.
German ZEW Economic Sentiment then beat forecasts at 19.5 to keep Pound gains in check. The afternoon saw the Pound continue its gains on average of around 0.5% across all major currencies. There was no specific data to justify this; however, there does appear to be some shifting in the global risk environment which suggests that the Pound is responding well to global investor nerves.
Trump’s stance on North Korea, Russia and Syria have stressed geopolitical tensions and created some risk aversion. Yesterday, President Trump said that the US is willing to go it alone against North Korea and the decision to move ships into the region could enrage the unpredictable Kim Jong Un into an action that sees things escalate quickly.
And with the Eurozone not being considered a safe-haven ahead of the French elections, the German stock market is in the red; maybe the UK is turning into a safer option. The Pound performed second strongest in the G10 only being outdone by the ultimate safe-haven, Japanese Yen.
Today we have UK Average Earnings, Claimant Count and UK Unemployment Rate data, just after a speech by Mark Carney at the International FinTech Conference in London.
In the afternoon, we have Canada’s rate decision; expecting no changes here and to remain at 0.5%. The following press conference will be closely monitored for hints of a potential hike in the future.
English is hard
How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday.
Seth at Sainsbury’s sells thick socks.
Roberta ran rings around the Roman ruins.
