Sterling held steady as UK markets re-opened on Tuesday and there were gains into the US open. There was a significant element of position adjustment which will again be a feature on Wednesday. There were no significant domestic developments with Sterling continuing to gain net support from expectations of further Bank of England rate hikes. The latest Lloyds Bank business confidence data retreated for May, the first decline for three months. Overall confidence in the global outlook also remained fragile which limited the scope for further Sterling buying.
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The Spanish inflation rate declined sharply to 3.2% from 4.1% and well below expectations of 4.4%, maintaining the possibility of a wider Euro-Zone inflation retreat. The Euro came under pressure after the European open and dipped to 9-week lows against the dollar. The Euro-Zone industrial sentiment index dipped to –5.2 for May from –2.8 previously while the services-sector index also retreated to 7.0 from 9.9 with both figures well below market expectations. The overall business and consumer survey index retreated to 96.5 from 99.0 and also below expectations.
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13.00 German Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (YoY) (May) Exp. 6.8% Prev. 7.6%
13.30 Christine Lagarde Speech
US consumer confidence retreated to 102.3 for May from 103.7 in April, although there was a significant upward revision to the April reading from 101.3 and the may figure was above expectations of 99.0. There was only a slight decline in the expectations index as it remained below the key level of 80 and in recession territory. Confidence in the labour market deteriorated, although confidence in incomes and wages held firm. The dollar gained some ground after the data as US yields edged lower.
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