Pound gains in value against the euro and is at the best rate to buy euros in over a month. In spite of all the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, the UK is expected to grow by 1.3% during 2019 which is only just 0.1% lower compared to 2018.
Brexit continues to impact UK investment
Clearly Brexit has had a negative impact in terms of large corporate investment and this is why the forecast has been downgraded. However, a fall of just 0.1% is arguably not as bad as many may have previously expected.
Retail Sales in the UK came out better than expected in April perhaps fuelled by the early sunshine which encouraged consumers to hit the high street. Borrowing figures in the UK also fell for the last year and came out at the lowest level in 17 years.
The pound also gained some momentum against a number of major currencies during yesterday’s trading session as cross party Brexit talks appear to have been improving. I am still doubtful that the Tories and the Labour party will manage to agree an approach to Brexit together so I think that the gains for the pound vs the euro owing to the news may be relatively short-lived. Later today the Bank of England will announce their latest interest rate decision at midday. No change is expected to take place but the press conference to be held could hint towards a future rate hike and if this is the case I think we could see the Pound increase against the Euro later on this afternoon. UK economic data has shown a lot of resilience despite the Brexit issue and I think if we were not still in the midst of Brexit I think we could see the Bank of England increasing interest rates. If you would like a free quote when buying or selling Euros and would like to save money on exchange rates compared to using your own bank or another currency broker then contact me directly. I have worked for one of the UK’s leading currency broker since 2003 so please outline a brief description of your currency requirement and I look forward to hearing from you.Bank of England interest rate decision
