The only thing worse than being talked about

What you may have missed this week

• French industrial figures to improve while Brexit still continues weighing Sterling down

• Fed chief Powell hints interest rate cuts

• Bank of Canada left policy rates unchanged while Australian Dollar retreats

Currency Market Overview

French industrial figures to improve while Brexit still continues weighing Sterling down

Sterling is currently on the back-foot against the Euro this morning as Brexit concerns continue to weigh it down.  As the chances of a no-deal increase, this will only hamper Sterling and keep it around its current level which is a 7 month low.  Politics aside, French industrial figures came in better than expected yesterday at 2.1% from a forecast of 0.3% giving the Euro a boost.  This was compounded by weaker than forecast UK Manufacturing Production and poor industrial production. Today the focus will be on a speech by Mark Carney, French and German inflation figures and more importantly ECB policy meetings at midday. 

Fed chief Powell hints interest rate cuts

The USD has fallen on the back of news from Federal Reserve Chair Powell. The dollar fell against a range of currencies as Powell sighted a general ‘global weakness’ which was clouding US economic sentiment. He left the door open for future US interest rate cuts and the Fed meeting later in the month will be keenly watched for further direction.

Bank of Canada left policy rates unchanged while Australian Dollar retreats

BOC left the policy rate unchanged at 1.75% yesterday and maintained a neutral tone. BOC cited similar concerns over global tensions as their counterparts in July’s meeting. While raising the GDP growth forecast for this year, the members downgraded the forecast for 2020. The Australian Dollar continued on its back foot after a Westpac survey showed consumer confidence retreating for a second successive month, fell by 4.1% to a two-year low of 96.5 in July. Uncertainty over the forecasts for the domestic economy, RBA policy and global economic growth explains why Sterling has been able to move higher against the Aussie for the last five trading days despite the Brexit-battered Pound sustaining losses against most other pairs in that period.