- Data released this morning showed that three-month wages growth in the UK (excluding bonuses) grew a little more than expected. The print came in at 6.0% year-on-year, slightly higher than the 5.9% that economists were expecting. Inflation and inflationary pressures remain a concern for the BoE, although members of the MPC will likely focus more on achieving their 2% CPI target rather than focusing on more volatile labour market indicators. Unemployment rose for a third month, giving rate setters some further confidence of a cooling jobs market with the jobless rate climbing to the highest level since last summer. Markets believe that UK inflation is on the way down and next week’s CPI release should confirm this, keeping hopes of a potential June interest rate cut alive. The pound is little changed after the data release, with GBPUSD hovering around 1.2550 and EURGBP within its recent trading range, treading water just below 0.86.
- The US dollar remains steady at the start of the week, with the dollar index little changed as the Japanese yen slipped to a fresh two week low. All eyes will be on the US again this afternoon as we await the release of PPI data ahead of tomorrow’s CPI print. Markets expect Producer Prices to maintain a 0.2% growth rate in April after gasoline prices ticked higher.
- EURUSD is off yesterday’s high after failing to breach stubborn resistance at 1.0810. The pair is back on a 1.07 handle after CPI data for Germany came in broadly as expected.
We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website. Download the GPS Cookies Policy for more information. The main types of cookies we use are as follows: strictly necessary cookies, performance cookies, advertisement cookies, and analytics cookies. You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings. Except for strictly essential cookies, you have also the option to decline the usage of cookies at any time. You can do this through this cookie management panel, which appears when you first visit, and you can access it independently through the link provided at the foot of the page.