Market Report : 23.04.2024

Published: 23/04/2024 By ECAP

The British Pound has been nursing its recent losses, driven by the growing speculation that the UK central bank will cut the interest rate earlier than anticipated. In fact, markets have now fully priced in a first quarter-point interest rate cut by the Bank of England for August and see two more rate cuts before the end of the year.

The Euro gained some ground this morning following the release of French and German PMI data. In fact, a major rebound in services activity seems to be dragging the bloc’s single currency out of the mud, with the French economy stabilising in April while the German economy expanded for the first time in ten months.

The U.S. Dollar remained close to over five-month highs hit earlier in April, as waning expectations of early interest rate cuts by the Fed saw investors pile into the greenback. Looking forward, GDP data due later today is expected to show just how resilient the U.S. economy remained in the first quarter. This will be followed by PCE price index data on Friday, which is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge.

Data supplied by GC Partners