Market Report : 19.08.2024

Published: 19/08/2024 By ECAP

The British Pound strengthened last Friday thanks to a 0.5% recovery in UK retail sales in July. However, Sterling surrendered a large portion of its gains in the afternoon. Looking forward, data will be largely absent for the majority of the week, which could see GBP exchange rates trade without a clear trajectory until the publication of the UK’s latest PMIs on Thursday.

The Euro remains strong against its peers as markets anticipate the European Central Bank will reduce interest rates gradually. In fact, ECB President Christine Lagarde underscored at her latest press conference that policymakers are not pre-committing to a particular rate path. The consensus was to adhere to a data-dependent and meeting by meeting approach.

The U.S. Dollar edged lower last Friday, handing back some of the previous session’s hefty gains after the release of solid retail sales downplayed concerns about an Imminent U.S. recession.  Looking forward, Federal Chair Jerome Powell will deliver a keynote speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium, which could infuse significant volatility into markets should he touch upon the US’s own monetary policy.

Data supplied by GC Partners