Sterling rally a 'by-product' of weaker Dollar, Burnham funding questions linger

GBP/USD made solid gains towards the end of last week, though this was almost entirely a by-product of broader dollar weakness rather than sterling strength. Indeed, the pound has actually lost ground against the euro over the past couple of weeks.

While the retreat in global oil prices is generally seen as supportive for sterling, it has proven even more bullish for the common currency.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has come under a bit of flak this week for disappearing on holiday after just two weeks in Number 10.

While that means a temporary pause to the litany of policy announcements unveiled in his first few days in office, it is unlikely to offer much respite from the scrutiny his early decisions have attracted, namely questions as to how he plans to fund the tax cuts he's unveiled thus far.

It also looks set to be a quiet few days of macroeconomic announcements this week, with revised PMI figures on Wednesday the only real data release of note.