Sterling’s Woes Continue

By Ashley Finill

Yesterday the UK market was closed for a bank holiday as a mark of respect for Her Majesty the Queen’s funeral which was held in the UK after 10 days of mourning since Elizabeth II sadly passed away after 70 years of stellar service to our country. With the recent sad events now passing, the focus may now shift back to troubles facing the UK with the cost-of-living crisis still looming, as the colder months start to set in, the cost of our household bills will rise and tighten spending which is likely to influence the much-needed recovery of the UK economy. Last week sterling’s miserable slump continued as it endured big losses on both the Dollar and the Euro sinking to a 37 year low on the former and levels not seen since February 2021 on the latter. This came after a shocking figure on retail figures in the UK, falling by 1.6% from August and now economists are warning that we are now for sure heading for a recession in the UK. Market analysts have suggested that the Bank of England is now likely to raise interest rates further and more aggressively, it’s been predicated that the interest rate could be raised by 50 basis points to 2.25%. The Bank of England will announce their decision on Thursday lunch time, something to be aware of should you have currency to move this week, it may be worth getting in contact with your account manager to explore your options ahead of Thursday.

Frosty Relations between Biden & the UK

The new prime minister Liz Truss admitted yesterday that a UK/US trade deal could be years away. She has flown over to the US to meet the US president Joe Biden for talks on such issues as this and about the ongoing situation in Ukraine. Since Biden took office, he has been outspoken about the Northern Ireland Protocol. Earlier this month the Whitehouse warned that if there was an attempt to undo the Protocol it could harm prospects of a trade deal; talks are due to take place later today between the President and the Prime Minister which could give some indication on the progress of any talks.

This week Data Releases

This week there are several key data releases which are likely to create volatility throughout the weeks trading, more notably on Thursday as mentioned above the Bank of England is to announce how much they are raising interest rates by, on the same say the US are also holding a meeting to vote on their interest rate decision, all key data releases are below.

Tuesday

12.30pm – US – Building Permits and Housing Starts

12.30pm – Canada – CPI

5pm – EU- ECB President Largarde Speaks

Wednesday

6pm – US – FED’s Interest rate decision

22.45pm – NZD – Exports, imports & Trade balance

Thursday

7.30am – Switzerland – SNB interest rate decision

12pm – UK – Bank of England interest rate decision

3pm – EU – Consumer confidence

11pm – AUS – PMI

11pm – GFK Consumer Confidence

Friday

9am – EU – PMI

9.30am – UK – PMI

1.30pm – Canada – Retail sales

2.45pm – US – PMI

 

If you are still on the hunt for property overseas and need more information on the buying process, any legal information, getting in touch with an agent or further information on currency then it’s worth heading down to A Place in the Sun Live at the NEC in Birmingham this weekend, from Friday 23rd-Sunday 25th of September. This event is great for building knowledge and information on the buying process overseas. We have agents, solicitors, presenters from the show and of course ourselves providing valuable information when researching your dream property purchase overseas. Contact us or follow this link for more information. https://www.aplaceinthesun.com/exhibitions/birmingham