Pessimistic Economic Outlook Weighs on Pound

The Great Britain pound was soft today due to the pessimistic economic outlook for the United Kingdom. Decent macroeconomic data was unable to rescue the currency.

The Rightmove House Price Index rose 0.4% in June, month-on-month, after increasing 0.8% in May. Prices for newly-marketed property reached a new record for the third consecutive month.

Meanwhile, the British Chamber of Commerce revised its economic growth forecast for the UK economy to 1.3% in 2018 from 1.4% in the previous estimate. That would be the slowest rate of growth since 2009. The report said:

If realised, the forecast suggests the economy is in a torpor, with uncertainties around Brexit, interest rate rises, and international developments such as a possible trade war and rising oil prices, all having an impact.

GBP/USD traded at about 1.3249 as of 12:13 GMT today, not far from the opening level of 1.3255. EUR/GBP climbed from 0.8728 to 0.8765. GBP/JPY edged down from 146.67 to 146.31.

If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Great Britain Pound,
feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *