By Ashley Finill
Sterling volatility calms for now
Sterling has now stabilised somewhat from its fall against both the Euro and the US Dollar seen last week. With the UK economy slowing down due to the ongoing pandemic, Sterling had dropped over 2 cents against the majors at the start of this week’s trading from the 18-month highs seen at the start of the month. With data releases mostly having been released, as we edge towards the end of August, the markets’ volatility may calm for now. However, there is a travel update in the UK tomorrow and with any surprises in the way of countries moving within the traffic lighting system, this may create further uncertainty, something investors in GBP are not keen on.
Travel update
Tomorrow the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps brings a much-anticipated travel update in the afternoon at 5pm. A press conference will be held with an update on which countries will move in the traffic light system. Various reports have been circulating throughout the week speculating on the countries that will be moving. It is expected that Turkey could be moving from red to amber, which I am sure will be much welcomed news for our clients hoping to buy there, with country having been off limits to Brits for some time now. In bad news though, there are murmurings of Croatia being moved from green to amber, although in good news it is unlikely that Spain will change and so should remain in amber. Sky News have also reported that the US is to try and keep Brits out until at least November, with a number of major airlines postponing plans to launch scheduled services from London to New York in September, until November.
Data releases
As mentioned above there is not too much of note on the data front, as we come to month end, however at 12.30pm the US will release durable goods orders. The figure is expected to be a contraction from last month’s figure of 0.9% to -0.3%, which may cause some movement on the markets. Tomorrow, again in the US, GDP figures are due to be posted – it is predicted to be a better figure than last month’s and should that happen, then this could give the Dollar a further boost, adding to its recent rally.