Market Report 090413

Yesterday we heard the news of Baroness Thatcher’s death at the age of 87. The Iron Lady passed away following a stroke and public opinion was very mixed with all seeing her as one of Britain’s most influential prime ministers, but not all agreeing that she gained this status in positive manner. This debate will likely continue for generations to come and like the ‘Thatcher’ debate it has become clear over recent months that the MPC also have different views when it comes to the UK monetary policy. There has been a clear split over the extension of QE at previous meetings and though there was no change again at last week’s meeting, the BoE Minutes are due next week and we will see if there is any change in stance by any of the MPC members.

The main driver for any change in either the interest rate or QE policy is the economic data releases. We have seen a mix of data with positive employment and retail sales data often offset against weaker manufacturing data. Today we have the release of manufacturing data so it will be interesting to see if we have turned the corner as the last few releases have all come in below expectation.

Yesterday was a poor day for the pound and that was without anything really happening. It seems as we take a break from the Cypriot shambles the Euro has gained a little momentum also coupled with the weaker dollar following the poor Non-Farm payrolls released last Friday. As the week continues it would seem we will be reliant on economic data releases and of course any news breaking from the trouble countries within the Eurozone.

Make sure you keep in touch with your account manager here at Currency Index so that you aren’t caught out by any sudden movements.