Sterling overall was little changed on Friday with markets continuing to monitor political developments.
Concerns over global growth conditions continued to provide net US dollar support with the currency index at 6-week highs.
The Euro was again hampered by underlying Euro-zone growth concerns and a widening Italian/German yield spread.
The Swiss franc briefly ‘flash crashed’ at Monday’s Asian open before recovering losses.
Oil prices registered net losses as global growth fears continued with little net change in global equities ahead of US-China trade talks.
Precious metals were resilient with gold making limited gains despite a strong dollar.
Cryptocurrencies spiked higher on Friday and held a net advance.
Sterling overall was little changed on Friday with markets continuing to monitor political developments. EU Chief Negotiator Barnier reiterated that the Withdrawal Agreement would not be re-opened, but also reaffirmed openness on the political agreement. Prime Minister May held talks with Irish Premier Varadkar with no evidence of substantive developments.
Although there were expectations that progress would eventually be made to avoid a ‘no-deal’ outcome, there were also concerns that on-going uncertainty would further undermine business confidence.
GBP/EUR was little changed around 1.1400 while GBP/USD was held below 1.2950. May overall asked for parliament to give her more time to secure concessions from the EU while there were limited concessions to Labour Party demands as May ruled out a customs union. The UK currency was marginally softer in early Europe ahead of the latest GDP and industrial production data with global growth reservations dampening buying interest.
Economic Calendar
| Expected | Previous | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 07:30 | CHF CPI (M/M)(JAN) | -0.30% | |
| 07:30 | CHF CPI (Y/Y)(JAN) | 0.80% | 0.70% |
| 09:30 | GBP Total Business Investment (Q/Q) | 0.20% | -1.10% |
| 09:30 | United Kingdom GDP (Q/Q) | 0.60% | 0.60% |
| 09:30 | United Kingdom GDP (Y/Y) | - | 1.50% |
| 09:30 | GBP Industrial Production (Y/Y)(DEC, 2018) | -0.70% | -1.50% |
| 09:30 | GBP Industrial Production (M/M)(DEC, 2018) | - | -0.40% |
| 09:30 | GBP Manufacturing Production (Y/Y)(DEC, 2018) | -0.70% | -1.10% |
| 09:30 | GBP Manufacturing Production (M/M)(DEC, 2018) | 0.30% | -0.30% |
| 09:30 | GBP Trade Balance(DEC, 2018) | -11.40B | -12.02B |
| 09:30 | GBP Trade Balance Non EU(DEC, 2018) | -3.70B | -3.93B |
| 21:45 | NZD Electronic Card Retail Sales (M/M)(JAN 01) | - | -2.30% |