The Pound has seen little movement over the last few days with the currency moving only half a percent. Despite the latest inflation decision release for the UK yesterday, very little has changed. The data was as expected which normally suggests the markets have priced in the release before it happens. Either way with little movement coming from data releases and the Brexit talks still in the balance very little seems to be changing for Sterling.
Retail Sales to End the Week
On Friday the latest Retail Sales data will be released for December and is expected to show a year on year boost for the month, however a 1.0% drop is forecast for the month on month release. This could cause sterling to weaken if the data is worse than investors expect. Alternatively, if the release is positive then Sterling could gain value of the back of it.
Brexit Discussions Continue
Yesterday at the EU Parliament several EU officials took it upon themselves to rip into Theresa May and how far the talks have developed in the past year. Arguably this was a demonstration of the exact reason as to why half of voters chose for the UK to leave the European Union, but it once more suggests the magnitude of the task at hand. There were several threats with regards to how the EU 27 nations are not going to be easy to negotiate with. However, it would be worth noting Emmanuel Macron and Jean Claude Juncker were last week calling for unity from all of the nations in the bloc.
There are quite clearly countries looking for individual gain with France specifically targeting tackling the UK financial district. However not all the countries in the EU want the UK to be held to ransom and they have more to gain with a good trade deal, should talks progress Sterling is set to strengthen also.