The British pound took the top spot this week despite continued Brexit & coronavirus pandemic uncertainty. It’s likely the announcement of additional U.K. stimulus was the main driver for Sterling, and it’s also possible that broad risk-on sentiment was a contributor as well.
United Kingdom Headlines and Economic data
Monday:
BOE Governor Warns Over Negative Interest Rates, Times Reports
Strong rebound in UK construction output as reopening gathers pace during June
Tuesday:
U.K. House prices fall -0.1% m/m in June, the fourth straight month of declines
EU wants Brexit deal ‘but not at any price’ as teams head for dinner
Sterling began its rally for the week during the U.S. session and there didn’t appear to a direct catalysts. Could it have been expectations of a stimulus announcement to come?
Wednesday:
Johnson tells Merkel U.K. is ready to go without an EU trade deal
UK chancellor unveils £30bn plan to protect millions of jobs – this was the announcement that likely pulled in more buyers in Sterling during the Wednesday session and through the rest of the week.
Thursday:
U.K. RICS house price balance down 15% vs. projected 25% drop
British high street reeling as another 5,000 jobs go
EU executive says ‘significant’ differences in Brexit talks
Friday:
UK has opted out of EU coronavirus vaccine programme
The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for the U.K. decreased 1.4% in May 2020 to 81.7
Global risk sentiment flipped to positive during the U.S. session. This was likely on news from Gilead that remdesivir coronavirus treatment reduces risk of death, which is likely why we saw the pound rise against the safe havens into the Friday close.
