|

GBP: Sterling a little weaker as the dust settles on the budget – ING

Labour's large tax-and-spend budget – described by some as an ‘old Labour’ policy – is still reverberating across UK asset markets, ING’s FX analyst Chris Turner notes.

New Gilt supply coming dangerously close to £300bn

“The Pound Sterling (GBP) briefly got a lift yesterday on the view that the budget was stimulative and that the Bank of England easing cycle would need to be repriced higher. We suspect the BoE is unlikely to be swayed by the government's budget plans and we see the risk that yesterday's spike in short-dated sterling interest rates gets reversed.”

“At the same time, it looks as though Labour is sailing very close to the wind with its borrowing plans – with new Gilt supply coming dangerously close to £300bn for FY24/25 and FY25/26. EUR/GBP should be trading a little lower based on short-dated rate spreads and the reason it is not is probably because a modest fiscal risk premium is going back into sterling. Should eurozone CPI surprise on the upside today, EUR/GBP could move closer to 0.8400.”

“Over the medium term, we are slightly bullish on EUR/GBP because of the market under-pricing the forthcoming easing BoE cycle. And it now seems the UK budget may add to that trend if indeed a modest fiscal risk premium gets priced into the pound. “

Author

FXStreet Insights Team

The FXStreet Insights Team is a group of journalists that handpicks selected market observations published by renowned experts. The content includes notes by commercial as well as additional insights by internal and external analysts.

More from FXStreet Insights Team
Share:

Markets move fast. We move first.

Orange Juice Newsletter brings you expert driven insights - not headlines. Every day on your inbox.

By subscribing you agree to our Terms and conditions.

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD ticks lower following the release of FOMC Minutes

The US Dollar found some near-term demand following the release of the FOMC meeting minutes, with the EUR/USD pair currently piercing the 1.1750 threshold. The document showed officials are still willing to trim interest rates. Meanwhile, thinned holiday trading keeps major pairs confined to familiar levels.

GBP/USD remains sub- 1.3500, remains in the red

The GBP/USD lost traction early in the American session, maintaining the sour tone and trading around 1.3460 following the release of the FOMC meeting minutes. Trading conditions remain thin ahead of the New Year holiday, limiting the pair's volatility.

Gold stable above $4,350 as the year comes to an end

Gold price got to recover some modest ground on Tuesday, holding on to intraday gains and changing hands at $4,360 a troy ounce in the American afternoon. The bright metal showed no reaction to the release of the FOMC December meeting minutes.

Ethereum: ETH holds above $2,900 despite rising selling activity

Ethereum (ETH) held the $2,900 level despite seeing increased selling pressure over the past week. The Exchange Netflow metric showed deposits outweighed withdrawals by about 400K ETH. The high value suggests rising selling activity amid the holiday season.

Economic outlook 2026-2027 in advanced countries: Solidity test

After a year marked by global economic resilience and ending on a note of optimism, 2026 looks promising and could be a year of solid economic performance. In our baseline scenario, we expect most of the supportive factors at work in 2025 to continue to play a role in 2026.

Crypto market outlook for 2026

Year 2025 was volatile, as crypto often is.  Among positive catalysts were favourable regulatory changes in the U.S., rise of Digital Asset Treasuries (DAT), adoption of AI and tokenization of Real-World-Assets (RWA).