Weekly Roundup: Pound slides amid downbeat UK data
Amy Richards October 31st 2023 - < 1 minute read
After a quiet start to the week, Sterling then faced selling pressure on Tuesday. New UK employment data pointed to a cooldown in the labour market while October’s preliminary PMI results revealed an ongoing contraction in business activity.
GBP then wavered midweek, with risk appetite driving the currency’s movement to see it trade without a clear direction.
Thursday saw Sterling suffer fresh selling pressure. The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) latest distributive trades survey reported a slump in retail trade.
The pound then ended the week wavering once again, having lost ground against many of its peers.
So far this week, Sterling has continued to face muted movement as investors await the Bank of England (BoE) interest rate decision.
If the bank leaves rates unchanged and signals that another hike is unlikely, Sterling could slump.
However, if the BoE shows concern that UK inflation isn’t falling as fast as they’d like then we may see GBP gain ground.
Written by
Amy Richards