GBP/CAD continues the bullish stance that started yesterday evening. Currently, the pair is trading at 1.7206, up 0.19% as of 9:50 AM UTC.
Pound sterling has increased amid a series of positive economic reports. Just recently, mortgage lender Halifax said that British house prices increased in January at the fastest annual pace since February 2018. The house prices indicator rose last month by 4.1% after a 4.0% increase in December.
In monthly terms, house prices rose 0.4% last month, beating analysts’ expectations. Nevertheless, despite the great performance at the start of the year, Halifax was cautious when presenting its forecast for the whole year.
Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax, commented:
“It’s too early to say if a corner has been turned. The recent positive figures may actually represent activity that would ordinarily have been expected to take place last year, but was delayed by economic uncertainty.”
Earlier today, a joint report by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) and professional services giant KPMG showed that UK firms had hired permanent workers last month at the fastest rate in over a year. KPMG’s index of permanent job placements rose to 52.3 in January, up from 51.9 the previous month.
REC CEO Neil Carberry commented on the results:
“It’s good to see that businesses have grown in confidence over the past two months and taken the opportunity to restart hiring.”
Nevertheless, the report showed some less positive aspects too. For example, starting wages for permanent staff accelerated at the slowest pace in more than three years. Also, temporary staff hiring declined for the first time in seven years.
The pound reacted positively on another report published in the morning. Accountancy firm BDO said that UK retailers had experienced the biggest increase in sales in about six years last month.
Elsewhere, CAD is closely watching the latest developments US-China trade relationship and the global oil market. Yesterday, China announced that it would halve tariffs on a number of goods imported from the US. Earlier today, a White House official said that US President Donald Trump had talked with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday. The president said he was confident that China would confront its coronavirus outbreak.
