Trump urges Parliament to break free from the ‘shackles’ of the EU on the promise of a trade deal.

On the first day of Trump’s state visit he dived into UK politics, attacking the Mayor of London Sadik Khan, urging the UK government to remove the EU ‘shackles” and also offering the prospect of UK-US trade deal soon after the UK leaves the block. Trump is due to meet exiting PM Theresa May later today where he is expected to push his anti-Huawei agenda and as well as give opinion on her replacement.

Sterling had some respite against the Dollar overnight as comments from Federal Reserve member Bullard, indicated the US could be forced to cut interest rates due to falling inflation and the ongoing risks associated with the China trade wars China. Focus will later turn to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech this evening at 17:25.

The Euro rose against the Dollar yesterday to its highest level since April. ECB Chief Mario Draghi is expected to keep a dovish tone in his meeting on Thursday, with widespread political uncertainty in Europe rumbling on and populist political parties gaining support throughout the continent.

There are many key economic data releases on today’s docket with euro-zone CPI figures, both Year-on-Year and Month-on-Month being the focus of the morning and Fed Chair Powell’s speech the focus of the evening.

Overnight the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates for the first time since August 2016 to a record low of 1.25%. This caused the Aussie Dollar to spike briefly after the central bank reaffirmed they believe their economy will grow by 2.75% in 2019 and 2020 despite modest 1.8% growth in Q1 of 2019.

Economic Calendar