Pound Sluggish as Government EU Repeal Bill Debate Continues
The Pound was on sluggish form yesterday as the Parliamentary debate over the government’s EU withdrawal bill continued.
Although the disagreement between lawmakers is unsettling for markets, without anything concrete to go on there was little reason to change the outlook for GBP at this juncture.
This afternoon’s NIESR gross domestic product estimate will give economists and markets a clearer picture of the UK economy’s second-quarter performance.
Pound Falls against Euro as ECB Hint at QE Discussions in October
GBP/EUR slipped yesterday after a seemingly hawkish meeting from the European Central Bank (ECB). The Governing Council kept to tradition and made no changes to monetary policy, but President Mario Draghi suggested that discussions to quantitative easing would likely happen in October.
Concerns over US Labour Market Health Boosts Pound against US Dollar
The Pound registered solid gains versus the US Dollar yesterday after US jobless claims figures knocked confidence in the health of the jobs market.
The number of new people claiming out of work benefits spiked from 236,000 to 298,000; dangerously close to the 300,000 threshold at which economists start to worry about the labour market.
Strong demand for the Euro also weighed on the US Dollar, opening up room for GBP/USD to advance.
Federal Reserve official Patrick Harker is due to speak later today, although as the topic is consumer finance there may not be any hints regarding monetary policy.
Pound to Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate Weakness Continues
The Pound to Canadian Dollar exchange rate continued to weaken yesterday, although the impetus generated by Wednesday’s surprise Bank of Canada (BOC) interest rate hike had slowed.
A larger-than-expected drop of -3.5% in July building permits and a slowdown in the Ivey purchasing managers’ index for August failed to give Sterling the upper hand.
Today’s Canadian net change in employment figure and unemployment rate for August could push the GBP/CAD exchange rate lower, given than the pace of new hires is expected to have risen from 10,000 to 15,000 on the month in August.
Poor Australian Ecostats fail to Push Pound to Australian Dollar Pairing Higher
The decline for GBP/AUD persisted yesterday, despite some disappointing economic data from Australia. The pace of construction sector expansion slowed sharply in August, while retail sales stagnated in July and the trade surplus slumped against expectations to clock in at half the level forecast.
AUD will spend much of today reacting to the content of this morning’s speech from Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe.
Pound to New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate Slips on Repeal Bill Debate
The Pound to New Zealand Dollar exchange rate wobbled yesterday morning, but eventually lost its footing and slipped lower in the afternoon.
Losses were contained by the fact New Zealand’s Labour Party continued to find support in the polls, hinting at a potential upheaval from the upcoming general election as the National Party could find itself ousted from government.
Data Released Today
09:30 GBP BoE/TNS Inflation Next 12 Mths (AUG)
09:30 AUD RBA Governor Lowe Gives Speech in Sydney
13:00 GBP NIESR Gross Domestic Product Estimate (AUG)
13:30 CAD Net Change in Employment (AUG)
13:30 CAD Unemployment Rate (AUG)
13:45 USD Fed’s Harker Speaks on Consumer Finance in Philadelphia