With a mixed day of data for GBP yesterday, things took something of a turn for the worst as we saw a drop in quarter on quarter GDP numbers – however, year on year saw UK GDP hit the expected 2.4%. An increase in imports and a poorly performing service sector are thought to be the blame, but, the silver lining may be a consensus amongst some economists that this is just a blip in that mortgage approvals have come in at a good reading of 42.1K, according to BBA – a good sign for Britain’s housing market. Against the dollar, GBP lost 0.4% over the day to land at 1.5260 interbank, while against the euro the pound dipped below the key 1.40 mark. There won’t be any data today to get things going with GBP – but we’ll look to next week’s BoE interest rate decision and asset purchasing facility figures for more clues to when an interest rate hike might happen. Don’t hold thumbs though.
From the Eurozone yesterday we saw services and economic sentiment for May – both coming in positively. Consumer and industrial confidence fell somewhat as expected. Against the dollar we saw EUR hit a high of 1.0950 (interbank). The Greeks, however, seem to have sorted some kind of deal out with their creditors late last night – although this has not been fully confirmed by the powers that be. Greece, of course, is the focus of everyone’s attention as investors look for news of a deal. And, if they are able to pay back their 5 June repayment next week.
To the States, where March’s continuing and initial jobless claims came in worse than expected – contributing to a drop-off for USD. There isn’t much data to end the week – which has been pretty light as a whole.
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