The focus could shift to top-tier U.K. reports and Brexit negotiations with the EU this week, but will these give sterling a much-needed lift?
A handful of major economic figures are on the docket, ready to give traders a better idea of how the U.K. is weathering the coronavirus crisis. Here’s what’s coming up.
Jobs data (Apr. 21, 7:00 am GMT)
- Claimant count change to show 175K increase in joblessness for March
- Average earnings index to dip from 3.1% to 3.0% for three-month period ending in Feb
- Unemployment rate to hold steady at 3.9%
Inflation reports (Apr. 22, 7:00 am GMT)
- Headline CPI to dip from 1.7% to 1.5% in March
- Core CPI to drop from 1.7% to 1.6% for the same period
- Producer input prices to slump by 3.6% after earlier 1.2% decline
- Producer output prices to fall by 0.4% after previous 0.3% dip
- Retail price index to drop from 2.5% to 2.3%
Flash PMI readings (Apr. 23, 9:30 am GMT)
- Manufacturing PMI to fall from 47.8 to 42.5 in April
- Services PMI to drop from 34.5 to 29.6 in April
- Reading below 50 signals industry contraction, above 50 reflects expansion
Retail sales (Apr. 24, 7:00 am GMT)
- Consumer spending to take 3.8% hit in March after earlier 0.3% drop
- Core retail sales to slump by 2.6% in the same month
Technical snapshot
- Stochastic paints a mixed picture of sterling pairs, with most in neutral territory.
- GBP/AUD and EUR/GBP are on bullish grounds while GBP/CHF is overbought.
- Moving averages also shows a bullish signal for GBP/AUD, along with GBP/CAD and GBP/NZD.
- GBP/CHF is also looking very bearish based on these trend indicators.
Missed last week’s price action? Read GBP’s price recap for April 13 – 17!
