By Nick Harrison.
The Pound was rocked yesterday morning by the news that the Bank Of England’s Monetary Policy Committee will likely cut their interest rate in November. This was contrary to the recent sentiment left after the last MPC meeting when the interest rate was left on hold which led to the Pound hitting the highest level for two and a half years against the USD & EUR. Yesterday’s news saw sterling drop well over a cent against the Euro and a cent and a half against the USD, so quite some fallout.
This morning, we have seen a slight recovery from the Pound after yesterday’s selloff, but sterling remains under pressure ahead of today’s economic data.
Today we see the Non-Farm Payrolls release in the US. This is an important monthly piece of data as job creation is a leading indicator of consumer spending, which accounts for a majority of economic activity. The previous number came in at 142,000 and the forecast today at 1.30pm is 147,000, so watch out for any market reaction this afternoon.
That completes a relatively volatile week for the FX market. Next week is heavily weighed towards US economic data with the FOMC minutes on Wednesday and inflation data hitting the headlines on Thursday. The UK GDP figure is released on Friday but the market could well continue to be swayed by the ongoing conflict in the Lebanon.
Make sure you speak to A Place in the Sun Currency to gauge how the market is reacting to these data releases and current affairs.
TODAY
US Average Hourly Earnings – 1.30pm
US Non-Farm Payrolls – 1.30pm
US Unemployment rate – 1.30pm
NEXT WEEK
WEDNESDAY
US FOMC minutes – 7pm
THURSDAY
US CPI (Inflation) – 1.30pm
FRIDAY
UK GDP – 7am
US Production Data – 1.30pm