GBP/EUR: BoE & Brexit Boost Pound over €1.14 vs. Euro
  • Pound (GBP) rallies on hopes that Brexit trade talks are moving to the final stages
  • BoE Ramsden pushed back on negative interest rate talk
  • Euro (EUR) under pressure amid surging covid cases
  • Consumer sentiment data is focus

The Pound Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate is extending gains for the sixth straight session. The pair settled on Monday 0.25% higher at €1.0998, after hitting a high of €1.1079. At 05:15 UTC, GBP/EUR trades +0.15% at €1.1015, slightly off the overnight high of €1.031.

Brexit trade deal optimism continues to boost the Pound at the start of the week. Reports are circulating that the European Union have indicated that they are ready to start working on the joint legal text for a post Brexit trade agreement.

Both sides have made concessions ahead of trade talks starting today which will continue until Friday. UK Chef negotiator David Frost is expected to provide more details on fishing quotas, whilst the EU has eased off threats to suspend trade and security talks. However, the tone is considerably better than the tone surrounding any previous talks.

Bank of England Deputy Governor David Ramsden added to the upbeat mood surrounding the Pound by pushing back on the idea of negative interest rates as a tool to support the economy.  Investors will be keen to see whether BoE Governor Andrew Bailey follows a similar bias when he speaks today art at the Chief Executives Club at Queen’s the Pound could rally further.

The Euro is weak across the board. The rising number of coronavirus cases across some countries is raising the prospect of additional lockdowns and tighter restrictions to prevent the spread o the virus. These restrictions could hamper the fragile economic growth in the region.

Attention will turn to Eurozone consumer confidence data which is expected to show sentiment broadly improving. However, when broken down further, sentiment surrounding the service sector is actually expected to deteriorate, whilst sentiment surrounding the manufacturing sector, which is holding up better than the service sector, it expected uptick up.