Sterling has hit a 5 week high against The U.S Dollar as markets remain focused on the increasingly likely interest rate cut by The Federal Reserve next week. The UK’s recent growth has also outpaced earlier forecasts which is also helping The Pound against both the Euro and Dollar with speculation suggesting The Bank of England could gradually slow it’s monetary easing path, which could in turn provide The Pound with some much needed support.
Turning our attention to this morning, we have October Retail Sales set to be released for Europe which is expected to show growth of 1.4% against initial 1% growth forecasts. If these figures come out as expected it may provide the European Central Bank with more support to keep current interest rates on hold throughout 2026.
The afternoon session brings our focus to The U.S with their weekly Jobless Claims release which is coupled with Continuing Claims. Initial Jobless Claims are set to rise by 4,000 which shouldn’t come as a surprise when we cast our minds back to the summer months where we’ve continually seen Non-Farm Payroll figures revised lower. Any further increase in Jobless Claims will only apply more pressure on The Federal Reserve to not just reduce their interest rates, but to also outline the path moving int0 2026.
GBP/EUR 1.1419 GBP/USD 1.3334 GBP/AED 4.9004
GBP/AUD 2.0163 GBP/CHF 1.0669 GBP/CAD 1.8616
GBP/NZD 2.3116 EUR/USD 1.1662 GBP/ZAR 22.6820