GBP
This week, the Bank of England will hold its latest monetary policy meeting. The BoE has raised rates at every meeting so far this year, bringing the Bank rate up to 1.25% in June.
The door has been left open to a 50bps rate hike, an increase that three of the nine-strong MPC panel voted for in June.
GBP/EUR exchange rate rallied further to reach three-month highs last week but could struggle to advance further in the days looking ahead to uncertainty about the outcome of this Thursday’s Bank of England (BoE) interest rate decision.
USD
In the US, the more widely watched manufacturing ISM survey will be released. This is expected to record a decline in the headline index, from 53.0 to 52.5, which would be the weakest since June 2020.
US GDP contracted in both the first and second quarters of this year, though the falls were modest at 1.6% and 0.9% in annualised terms.
No doubt, this will only add to the debate about whether or not the economy is in recession.
EUR
German retailers ended the first half of 2022 with the sharpest year-on-year sales drop in nearly three decades, as inflation, the Ukraine war and the coronavirus pandemic take their toll, data showed this morning.
Retail sales in June decreased 8.8% in real terms compared with the same month last year, the biggest drop since the time series began in 1994, said the Federal Statistical Office.
Congratulations England, who won the European Women’s Football Championships yesterday at Wembley Stadium. The Lionesses beat Germany 2-1 after extra time, securing the first major football tournament title for any England team since 1966. Inspiration for a nation and future generations to come!