AIRLINK 195.14 Increased By ▲ 3.30 (1.72%)
BOP 10.18 Increased By ▲ 0.31 (3.14%)
CNERGY 7.86 Increased By ▲ 0.19 (2.48%)
FCCL 38.40 Increased By ▲ 0.54 (1.43%)
FFL 15.90 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (0.89%)
FLYNG 25.25 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.24%)
HUBC 131.25 Increased By ▲ 1.08 (0.83%)
HUMNL 13.97 Increased By ▲ 0.38 (2.8%)
KEL 4.68 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.21%)
KOSM 6.32 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (1.77%)
MLCF 45.25 Increased By ▲ 0.96 (2.17%)
OGDC 210.40 Increased By ▲ 3.53 (1.71%)
PACE 6.69 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (1.98%)
PAEL 41.27 Increased By ▲ 0.72 (1.78%)
PIAHCLA 17.85 Increased By ▲ 0.26 (1.48%)
PIBTL 8.12 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.62%)
POWER 9.35 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (1.19%)
PPL 181.50 Increased By ▲ 2.94 (1.65%)
PRL 40.42 Increased By ▲ 1.34 (3.43%)
PTC 24.70 Increased By ▲ 0.56 (2.32%)
SEARL 110.85 Increased By ▲ 3.00 (2.78%)
SILK 0.98 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (1.03%)
SSGC 38.71 Decreased By ▼ -0.40 (-1.02%)
SYM 19.18 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.31%)
TELE 8.72 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.4%)
TPLP 12.37 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
TRG 66.31 Increased By ▲ 0.30 (0.45%)
WAVESAPP 12.53 Decreased By ▼ -0.25 (-1.96%)
WTL 1.70 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
YOUW 3.94 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.25%)
BR100 12,079 Increased By 148.7 (1.25%)
BR30 36,124 Increased By 464.7 (1.3%)
KSE100 114,883 Increased By 1676.9 (1.48%)
KSE30 36,106 Increased By 540.8 (1.52%)

LONDON: The pound was pinned around a one month low on the dollar on Friday, getting little support from data that showed Britain’s economy returned to growth in August.

Sterling was last flat on the day on the dollar at $1.3069, just off the $1.3011 hit Thursday, its lowest since mid Sept.

It was also flat on the euro, at 83.70 pence to the common currency.

Economic output rose by 0.2% in monthly terms in August, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics - in line with expectations in a Reuters poll of economists - and a return to growth after two consecutive months of stagnation.

That provides some relief to finance minister Rachel Reeves ahead of the new Labour government’s first budget later this month, though still shows a slowdown compared to the start of the year.

But the pound was little moved. “The data didn’t change the big picture a great deal, it provides confirmation that the UK economy is slowing in the second half of this year, but that’s understandable, I don’t think anyone thought that the strong pace of growth in the first half of the year was sustainable,” said Lee Hardman, senior FX strategist at MUFG.

“For the Bank of England, next week is much more important with the latest inflation and labour market reports due, which will be important in terms of determining the kind of messaging we get for the Bank of England ahead of their next meeting in November.”

The pound for much of this year had been supported by expectations that the Bank of England will cut rates more slowly than peers such as the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank.

But this has been changing, and much of the currency’s decline in the past month against the dollar has been down to shifts in those relative expectations. Markets have reduced the amount of Fed easing they expect while, in contrast, BoE governor Andrew Bailey said last week the central bank could become ‘more aggressive’ on rate cuts if inflation pressures continue to weaken.

Comments

Comments are closed.