| Last week we had a bag of mixed data, ending with some poor figures from the UK revealing that retails sales fell to its lowest level since January 2021. For the US, there was some stronger than expected data towards the end of the week. It is a quiet start to the week in terms of economic data as markets look ahead to this Thursdays ECB policy announcement. Markets remain cautious ahead of this week’s data following the mixed figures from last week. This has prompted renewed concerns that it may be too soon to begin thinking about cutting interest rates. Central Bank policy announcements will be the centre of attention over the next two weeks with the US Federal Reserve on the 31st January and Bank of England on the 1st February. No immediate change is expected to the Central Bank announcements, but markets will be keeping a close eye on any indications of their policy intentions for the rest of the year.Tomorrow, we have the EU flash figures for Consumer Confidence, followed by Wednesday’s busy day which is dominated by PMI’s. The results of the PMI reports will provide some insight into how trends in economic activity have started in 2024. The pound ended the week at its highest level against the euro but has since dipped a little. Cable is currently sitting at a weekly high this morning. |
