The European Council President has raised his concerns in a letter to the 27 EU nations leaders, regarding Donald Trump. The US which is the EU’s biggest ally has threatened to leave Nato, spoke highly of Putin and been particularly negative towards Angela Merkel about refugees.
Whilst President Trump hasn’t changed any of the plans he suggested he would implement the reality appears to be settling in. The EU is under pressure from all sides currently with Brexit discussions looking like they’re just around the corner, a fallout with Trump may only add to the worries.
Retail Sales and Purchasing Managers Index Data
Tomorrow will see a flurry of data for the European Union as retail sales will be released and are expected to show a deduction from the previous month. There will also be PMI data for both the EU Services and individual nations. The release is not expected to show much change from the previous month however any surprised in the data could cause movements.
Brexit talks in the House of Commons
Tonight, there will be the first vote on the Brexit Bill which could suggest Article 50 will be triggered at the end of March. MP’s will spend today and tomorrow discussing their positions and will vote tonight at around 7pm. The GBP/EUR rate has strengthen this afternoon as it looks like more certainty about Brexit is very close which over the last few weeks has driven the market. If there is a decision tonight and it looks like the Brexit Bill will pass the commons, I think the Pound/Euro rate could moves above 1.18 once again.