By Matthew Vassallo
It’s been another tough week for Sterling, which seems to be somewhat of a recurring theme at present.
The Pound did manage to find the odd pocket of support earlier this week, against both the Euro and the US Dollar. However, these fleeting and comparatively brief periods of respite will do little to help soften the overall market perception, which remains stacked & heavily weighted against Sterling.
This current negative outlook is inextricably tied into the plethora of problems, both economic and internal, currently facing the UK government and PM Boris Johnson.
Some of these problems, particularly the worsening economic ones, could be argued were inevitable based on the fall-out from Brexit. However, a growing list of others fall directly on the doorstep of Number 10.
It must be pointed out that some of the more publicised of these issues were unequivocally avoidable, in their entirety, but for the ineptitude of certain individual(s) masquerading as political figureheads behind the converted Downing Street door.
Looking externally and the fallout from last week’s uninspiring employment data for the UK was negatively reinforced, by further grim warnings this week in relation to rising household costs due to spiralling and at present, almost uncontrollable, UK inflation figures which are set to break the 11% threshold sooner rather than later.
Add to this the official confirmation this morning that UK trade balance figures have hit their lowest levels since the records began, which relates to the negative differential between the amount of income the UK generates from exports compared to what it spends on imports, and its clear that the political and economic headaches are likely to continued for the PM in the foreseeable.