Daily Economic Commentary: United Kingdom

After starting the week strong, the pound eventually squandered its huge lead to close the week behind the USD and JPY. It’s only win came over the debt-stricken EUR with the EURGBP slipping to 0.9012 from 0.9079. The GBPUSD, on the other hand, fell and closed at 1.5013 after reaching a high of 1.5383 from 1.5176. Similarly, the GBPJPY sunk to 135.93 from 137.86.

No economic reports were due in the UK last Friday. The pound, however, suffered a huge loss when India’s surprise interest rate hike sparked some speculation that the tightening measures that are starting to be implemented by the central banks in the world could constrain the global economic recovery.

Today (4:30 pm GMT), BOE Governor Mervyn King is set to speak at the Royal Society, in London. Being the head of the central bank, traders could then look into his speech for clues regarding the bank’s future monetary policies. Any hawkish statement could be bullish for the GBP.

Tomorrow, the UK’s annualized CPI for will be issued. The UK’s annualized headline CPI is seen to cool down a bit to 3.1% in February from 3.5%. The core version of the account is also seen to be at 3.0% from 3.1%. An interest rate hike or a removal of any of the BOE’s current stimulus programs would be less likely given a drop in the UK’s inflation figures. This, though, could be bearish for the GBP.

The UK’s BBA mortgage approvals and CBI realized retail sales will also be released during tomorrow. The latest number of new mortgage approved for home purchase is seen to be at 34,300. The UK’s CBI realized retail sales index, on the other hand, are seen to have dropped to 20 from 23 which indicates a slightly lower level of sales during the latest period.

On Wednesday, the UK’s annual budget balance will be published. The British government is not expected to cut on its deficit for this year. This will only put more pressure on the GBP given its already high outstanding debt.

The UK’s retail sales will be on tap on Thursday. Sales at a retail level are projected to have increased by 0.6% in February after sliding by 1.8% during the previous month. With the CBI retail sales index seen to have fallen, the UK’s actual retail figure could come in weaker than expected as well.

The GBPUSD turned out to be one of the stronger currencies in yesterdays trading session. It closed the US session just a few pips above the 1.5100 handle, around 100 pips from its Asian session open price.

There is a bunch of data to watch out for today, so be on your toes.

The UK’s consumer price index kicks the party off at 5:30 pm GMT. The expectation is that prices increased by 3.1% in February, slightly lower than the previous month’s 3.5% rise. Meanwhile, the core version of the report that excludes the prices of volatile items such as food and energy is predicted to show a climb of 3.0% in prices.

Keep a close eye on the actual results of the report because the BOE said earlier today that inflation could tick down a couple of notches as economic conditions remain weak. Low inflation would give the BOE more reason to keep interest rates accommodative at 0.50%.

Also released at the same time is the BBA mortgage approvals report. It is predicted show that 34,300 mortgages were approved in February, down the 35,100 from the previous month. Generally speaking, rising mortgages reflect how financially stable consumers are because people need to first be financially qualified to take out mortgages.

Lastly, at 11:00 am GMT, the CBI Distributive Trades survey is due. The consensus is a reading of 18 for this month, up from February’s 23. A reading above base line zero means that the sales volume of retailers and wholesalers are growing.

The pound slid lower on a round of bad news yesterday, preventing it from capitalizing on its rise on Monday. The GBPUSD pair fell about 50 pips from its opening price to end the day at 1.5048.

The CPI report was released yesterday and as expected, failed to impress. The annualized rate fell to 3.0%, much lower from the 3.5% figure posted last month. Why is this significant? Well, this gives the BOE more room to breathe for its quantitative easing measures. While inflation is still above the BOE’s target rate of 2.0%, some economists have said that they expect inflation to be subdued and that it will eventually below that threshold.

Furthermore, this may eventually allow the BOE to even expand their asset purchase facility and not worry about keeping rates at low levels for an extended period. This in turn could lead to bearish sentiment towards the pound over the next few months… which is probably what the BOE wants! As Forex Gump said in a recent post, the BOE may actually want the pound to weaken in order to help their debt problems…

Meanwhile, the UK housing market got a bit of good news, as mortgage approvals were at 35,300, higher than the projected figure of 34,300.This marked the first increase in 3 months.

Still, the markets really didn’t mind this data too much, as once again, they focused on the bad news that came in the form of the CBI realized sales index. The index failed to hit the consensus reading of 18, printing a score of 13. This indicated that sales volume is dropping and that consumer spending in the UK is still weak.

Today, we may see quiet trading during the earlier parts of the European session, as traders may be gearing up for the release of the annual budget. Remember, the UK government is neck deep in debt - if there are signs that their debt levels will only grow this year, it could trigger another round of pound selling.

Risk aversion and weak fundamentals clobbered the pound yesterday, pushing the cable to a low of 1.4877 during the US session. The guppy was a bit more fortunate since it was able to keep its head above the 136.50 level.

The UK’s annual budget report revealed that the government downgraded their 2011 growth forecasts from 3.5% to 3%, leading to a pound sell-off. Although the government announced that they’d need to borrow less funds this year, the pound was unable to recover as risk aversion spurred by Portugal’s debt downgrade weighed it down.

The retail sales report is set for release at 9:30 am GMT today. An increase of 0.8% in retail sales is expected to follow the 1.8% slide seen last January. Given the recent slump in the CBI realized sales figure, the pound might be in for another disappointing result. Would it follow the euro in chalking up a new ten-month low?

Put another mark at the pound’s lose column. The pound suffered another defeat against the greenback in yesterday’s foreign exchange tug-of-war. The GBPUSD fell to and settled at 1.4813 after touching a high of 1.5003 from 1.4866.

The UK’s retail sales for the month of February surprisingly rose by 2.1% versus the market’s estimate of 0.8%. This jump was buoyed by the 11.2% increase in sales at household goods stores. Vehicle fuel sales also gained by 9.1% during the month. Sales during the month of January, however, was revised down to -3.0% from -1.8%. The adverse winter condition in January was to blame why the consumers couldn’t go out and spend at that time.

The pound gained some support following the report. The sellers, though, took this as an opportunity to get a better price to short the pound again.

No major economic reports are due today in the UK. Today, though, is EU Summit’s second day of talks. Yesterday, ECB President Trichet welcomed a solution for Greece’s debt issues. Any positive developments in the summit could reflect in the pound as well.

Thanks to “positive” news from euro zone, the Cable was able to retrace some of its losses last Friday. From Asian opening price that day of 1.4810, the Cable managed to rally and close out the week just a couple of pips below the 1.4900 handle.

For today, watch out for the net consumer credit report. The report, which measures the monthly change in the total new loans issued to consumers, is predicted to show a rise of 400 million GBP for February, slightly lower than the 500 million GBP increase the month before. Because being able to secure loans require financial stability, currency traders typically see rising loans as good for the economy.

We’ll be seeing more data from the UK as the week rolls along.

On Tuesday, the Nationwide house price index (7:00 am GMT) and UK’s current account balance (8:30 am GMT) are due. The Nationwide HPI is expected to show that the selling price of homes rose 0.2% this month, opposite the 1.0% decline seen last February. Meanwhile, the current account balance is predicted to show a 4.6 billion GBP deficit for the final quarter of 2009, slightly lower than the 4.7 billion GBP deficit from the quarter before.

On Thursday, the UK’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index will come out. The PMI basically assesses whether the manufacturing industry is growing or not. A reading above the “line in the sand” figure of 50 indicates growth while a reading below 50.0 means otherwise. The consensus is a reading of 56.8 for March, a very slight improvement from the previous month’s 56.6.

Up and down trading for the pound yesterday, although it remained within range considering how volatile GBP pairs are. After covering the weekend gap, the GBPUSD closed slightly higher, finishing the day at 1.4982.

The United Kingdom got a bit of good news yesterday, when net consumer credit figures came in slightly better than expected. ₤500 million worth of loans were issued to consumers last month, which beat consensus of a ₤400 million. This indicates that consumer access to credit is improving, which is a sign of financial stability.

However, the boys over at S&P still seem unimpressed, as they are maintaining their negative outlook on the economy. They warned yesterday that if the UK doesn’t fix its debt problems, it may not be deserving of its AAA rating. I don’t really blame them though – things haven’t been looking too rosy for the UK.

One thing to keep an eye on is developments in the political arena. As I’ve pointed out in the past, one reason why analysts are bearish on the British economy is because of the possibility of a hung parliament. What this means is that there could be no majority or ruling party in the UK government. How does this affect the economy? Well, one issue that the government needs to deal with is their growing debt. If government is split, then there could be a drag in coming up with any plans to address the debt problem.

In any case, Chancellor Alistair Darling will be speaking today at 8:45 am GMT. He may drop some comments regarding the S&P’s statements, so watch out for his speech.

Today we could be in for some major moves, as final GDP figures are due at 8:30 am GMT. No revisions are expected to be made from the last report, which indicated that the UK economy grew by 0.3% during the last quarter of 2009. However, if we do see a downward revision, all hell might break loose…

The Nationwide HPI report is also due at 6:00 am GMT. The index measures the change in selling prices of homes, and it is projected that housing prices rose by 0.2% in the past month.

Lastly, the current account is also scheduled for release at 8:30 am GMT. The deficit for the last quarter is expected to be at ₤4.6 billion, just slightly less than the previous quarter’s figure of ₤4.7 billion. Just recently, my main man Forex Gump made wrote a post about how the BOE actually wants a weaker pound in order to boost exports. Now, seeing as how the pound has been falling the past few months, could we see an upside surprise, and possibly even a surplus in today’s report?

Strong economic data propelled the GBPUSD to a high of 1.5127 yesterday, allowing the pound to erase its losses from last week. The GBPJPY also edged higher, reaching a high of 140.56 and marking its seventh day in consecutive rallies.

The Nationwide HPI printed a 0.7% increase in house prices for March, outpacing the consensus of a 0.2% uptick. This was a solid rebound from the 0.8% slide seen in February. It turns out that home owners postponed listing their properties online, causing housing demand to climb.

Meanwhile, the fourth quarter GDP enjoyed an upward revision from the previously reported 0.3% to 0.4%. The pound then banked on the news that the UK’s economic expansion was slightly stronger than initially announced.

Furthermore, UK’s current account balance came in better than expected as the deficit narrowed from 5.9 billion GBP to 1.7 billion GBP in the fourth quarter. The smaller deficit was mostly a result of a higher surplus in income and trade services for the period.

The only disappointing piece of economic news from the UK yesterday was its GfK consumer confidence reading. The report showed that consumers were a bit more pessimistic in March as the index unexpectedly dipped from -14 to -15. The pound pairs retreated after the release of this report but were able to get back on their feet immediately.

Looking ahead… Well, the economic coast is clear for the UK, at least for today. It’s next set of economic reports which are due Thursday include the Halifax HPI, manufacturing PMI, and BOE credit conditions survey. Would we see another wave of upbeat figures from the UK? Stay tuned!

The pound extended its winning streak against the dollar and yen yesterday to four and six, respectively. The Cable (GBPUSD) rose to and closed at 1.5174 from 1.5069. The Guppy (GBPJPY) also reached 141.87 from 139.83.

The UK did not release any economic reports yesterday. Risk appetite in the forex market, however, drove the anti-dollars like the pound higher.

Today at 8:30 am GMT, the UK’s manufacturing PMI for the month of March will be published. The index is seen to rise to 56.8 from 56.6. An increase in this account indicates an improving business condition in the UK’s manufacturing sector and therefore would usually be bullish for the GBP. It looks like the GBP bulls will be celebrating again if the index comes in at least in line with expectations.

Thanks to improved risk appetite, the GBPUSD was one of the greatest performers last week, rising up more than 250 pips to close out last Friday above the 1.5200 handle. Given the strong case of risk appetite, would we see the GBPUSD stage another stellar rally this week?

The only obstacle that held back the GBPUSD’s advance last week was the worse-than-expected results of the US non-farm payrolls report. It came out with a reading of 162,000, lower than the 185,000 gain initially predicted. This dampened risk appetite, causing the GBPUSD to fall 100 pips to 1.5200 from its highest price level last week.

No data is expected out of the UK today, but expect a lot of economic events, particularly the BOE’s interest rate decision, are coming up ahead.

First up, the Halifax Bank of Scotland house price index, will be released either tomorrow or on Wednesday. The report, which measures the change in the selling prices of homes funded by the HBOS, is expected to show 0.6% increase in March, opposite the 1.5% decline from the month before.

On Wednesday, at 8:30 am GMT, UK’s services purchasing managers’ indexwill be released. The services PMI is designed to see whether UK’s services sector is growing or not. A reading above 50.0 indicates expansion while a reading below 50.0 means otherwise. The forecast for March is a reading of 58.2, slightly lower than February’s 58.4.

On Thursday, UK’s manufacturing production report and the BOE’s interest rate decision are due. The manufacturing production report, which will be published at 8:30 am GMT, is predicted to show a 0.7% rise in February after dropping 0.9% the month before. On the other hand, at 11:00 am GMT, the Bank of England will announce its decision on interest rates. As usual, it is widely expected for the BOE to keep rates steady at 0.50% and hold off expanding its quantitative easing program.

It looks like a lot of positive expectations for economic data this week… If we see these reports come out on target, or even better-than-expected, we could see another run in risk appetite, which would help the GBPUSD regain the losses it experienced during the first quarter of 2010.

Relatively tight trading on the cable yesterday, as it stuck within a range of about 80 pips. With some economic reports on deck today, could we see some stronger moves?

At 8:30 am GMT, the construction purchasing manager index is scheduled for release. The index measures the confidence of business managers in the construction industry, with 50.0 being the score that separates contraction from expansion. Projections are for a reading of 48.8, which would be a slight improvement over last month’s release of 48.5. Now, if the index comes in to post a score above 50.0, indicating actual expansion, this could send GBP bulls jumping for joy!

Later on at 11:00 pm, the nationwide consumer confidence index is due. The index has been steadily improving the past few months, printing a score of 80 last month. Today’s release is projected to come out at 81. Have consumers become confident over the economy? Or have they become more concerned, especially given the uncertainties in the political arena? We will have to wait and see!

Tomorrow will be busy once again, as both the Halifax housing price index and the services PMI reports are due. Housing prices are seen to have risen by 0.6% in the past month, while the services PMI is expected to have remained relatively steady with a reading of 58.2. Normally these are considered to be high impact reports, but it will be interesting to see the markets react to them. After all, we’ve got the BOE’s interest rate decision coming in on Thursday…

V for victory! The pound successfully pulled up from its sharp dive against the greenback and etched a nice V-formation on the GBPUSD 1-hour chart. The question is: Would the pound be able to sustain its rally or would it resume its dive later on?

Earlier during the day, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that the general elections will be held on May 6. This caused fears of a hung Parliament, wherein no political party holds majority of the seats, to resurface. A hung Parliament - no connection to William Hung whatsoever - is an unfavorable political situation since split decisions between the House members could delay important government decisions.

Fortunately for the pound, UK’s construction PMI came in better than expected. The March reading climbed from 48.5 to 53.1, past the 50.0 mark which indicates that the industry is expanding. This marks the indicator’s 2-year high as new orders for housing and commercial sectors surged in March. As a result, the GBPUSD landed back above the 1.5200 mark and climbed higher after the US Fed delivered skeptical comments concerning their monetary policy.

It’ll be the services sector’s turn to release their March PMI reading today at 4:30 am GMT. The PMI could dip from 58.4 to 58.1, implying that the expansion in the industry slowed a bit during the month. A weaker than expected figure could force the pound to return its recent gains.

The pound received another pounding from the yen and the greenback yesterday. The Guppy (GBPJPY) fell and closed at 142.26 from 143.17. The Cable (GBPUSD) also slid to 1.5247 from 1.5279.

The UK’s services PMI dipped more than expected to 56.5 in March from 58.4, indicating that the growth in the UK’s service sector had slowed. Services grew at its highest rate in February as businesses tried to get back on the game after being benched by the harsh winter conditions. Activity, however, dipped in March when new businesses were a lot lesser than projected.

The pound weakened following the report.

The UK’s Halifax HPI and February industrial and manufacturing production will be on tap later at 8:30 am GMT. House prices are seen to have gained by 0.65 after dipping by 1.5% during the previous month. Both industrial and manufacturing productions are also expected to have risen by 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively. Positive results in these accounts could halt the pound’s present decline.

  The market will probably focus on the [Bank of England](http://www.babypips.com/forexpedia/BOE)’s [interest  rate](http://www.babypips.com/forexpedia/Interest_rates) and asset facility program decision today at 11:00 am GMT though.  The bank is seen to maintain its interest rate at 0.50% and its asset  purchase facility program at £200 billion. According to some economists,  the bank is likely to hold their easing programs until November since  the economy is still in a fragile condition. They said that it is vital  for the bank to keep the interest rate low in order for the economy to  sustain its recovery. Doing so, however, would be bearish for the GBP.

Thanks to the positive results of economic data released yesterday, the pound was able to take back the ground it lost against the dollar during the Asian trading session. The GBPUSD ended the day at 1.5273.

The Halifax house price index, which measures the monthly average change in price of selling homes financed by the Halifax Bank of Scotland, showed an unexpected increase of 1.1% in March, almost double the forecast.

The manufacturing production report released soon after was also able to beat expectations. It revealed that production in March surged by 1.3%, opposite the 1.0% decrease in February and higher than the 0.7% rise initially predicted.

The slightly dovish tone of the BOE interest rate decision put a cap on the pound’s rally though. The Bank of England said in its statement yesterday that they decided to keep rates on hold at 0.50% and maintain its 200 billion GBP quantiative easing program because the British economy is still “vulnerable.” The bank’s statement gave traders reason to believe that interest rate hikes probably won’t occur until next.

The important data to watch out for today is UK’s producer price index at 8:30 am GMT. The PPI measures the change in price of raw materials bought by manufacturers from their suppliers. The PPI is generally used by traders as a leading indicator of inflation, because businesses tend to pass on additional costs they incur to their customers. The forecast is for another increase in March, this time by 1.3%.

The pound rallied nicely last Friday, as GBP bulls reacted favorably to the risk appetite soup that was served. With the GBPUSD gapping up over the weekend to open above key resistance at 1.5400, will the pair continue to surge higher?

A report released last Friday showed that producer prices rose by 3.6%, beating consensus of a rise of just 1.3%. Remember, rising producer prices could signal rising inflation, as companies normally like to pass additional costs over to their customers. Also, take note that rising inflation would signal to the BOE that they might need to ease off on their quantitative easing measures, such as having low interest rates.

What boosted risk appetite however, was news over the weekend that the EU was giving Greece a bailout package, after Fitch had downgraded their debt to BBB-. I’m going to be monitoring this and I’ll keep you posted on any developments on this, as it will have a significant impact on risk sentiment.

Looking ahead at the [=&currency[]=AUD&currency[]=CAD&currency[]=CHF&currency[]=EUR&currency[]=GBP&currency[]=JPY&currency[]=NZD&currency[]=USD&importance[]=&importance[]=3&importance[]=2&importance[]=1&submit=Submit"]economic calender](Forex Economic Calendar[), it looks like we’ve got nothing coming out today, so I suggest you take note of reports and news (ahem, GREECE!) coming out from other countries today.

Things will begin to heat up tomorrow, as the BRC retail sales and RICS housing price balance reports due tomorrow at 11:00 pm GMT. Last month, members of the British Retail Consortium revealed that retail sales rose by 2.2%. Meanwhile, only 1.7% of property surveyors are expected to report that housing prices rose last March, a major drop from February’s figure of 17%. If these reports come in worse than expected, we may see the GBPUSD dip to fill up the gap it formed over the weekend.

After taking a huge leap during the weekend, the pound slid back down against the greenback and the yen in yesterday’s trading. Weak economic data, along with the uncertainty surrounding next month’s elections, weighed on the pound.

The RICS house price balance for March showed that less surveyors are reporting house price increases in their area. The consensus was that 18% of surveyors would post house price gains for March, same as in February. However, the actual figure came short and landed at 9% only.

Furthermore, many are starting to worry that asset prices could continue to fall if the upcoming elections result in a hung parliament, wherein no political party holds majority of the seats in parliament. Such political stalemate could also delay the implementation of laws designed to trim the UK’s bulging deficit.

On a more upbeat note, the BRC retail sales monitor printed a 4.4% year-over-year increase in March, twice as much as the 2.2% annual retail sales growth seen in February. Components of the report showed that the additional spending, particularly on food, during the Easter holidays was a key factor in boosting sales. However, this strong report was unable to provide support for the pound.

UK trade balance figures are on tap for today. Their trade deficit is expected to narrow from 8.0 billion GBP to 7.3 billion GBP in February. Judging from the considerable improvements in industrial production and manufacturing activity for the month, we might be in for an upside surprise come 8:30 am GMT.

The GBP closed in a mixed fashion yesterday. The Cable (GBPUSD) fell to and closed at 1.5364 from 1.5372. The Guppy (GBPJPY), in a similar way, also slipped slightly to close at 143.14 from 143.34.

The UK’s trade balance in February unexpectedly improved to -£6.2 billion from -£8.1 billion. Initially, the country’s trade deficit was only seen to narrow to -£7.3 billion. The surprise result then gave traders a reason to buy up the GBP after when the number was released. The pound, however, continued to range until the end of the day.

Later today (11:01 pm GMT), the UK’s nationwide consumer confidence index will be on tap. The index likely reached 81 during the recent month, from it’s previous reading of 80. Confidence in the UK has been faring better as of late given the positive developments in its economy. A gain in this account, especially if the number comes in better than expected, could give the GBP some support.

Thanks to the slight case of risk appetite, yesterday’s trading session turned out to be a great one for the pound. The GBPUSD and GBPJPY closed out the US trading session with significant gains, ending at 1.5372 and 144.68 respectively.

Earlier today, the Nationwide’s consumer confidence survey for March came out. It printed a reading of 72, lower than both the forecast and the previous month’s reading. This indicates that consumers became less optimistic about UK’s economic conditions, which could put some downward pressure on consumer spending in the long run.

No more important economic data set for release from the UK for the rest of the day so the pound’s price action would probably be dictated by news coming out of the US.

Despite some strong moves by the dollar, the pound amazingly posted some gains versus the greenback. The GBPUSD pair closed trading just under the 1.5500 handle. Is the pound for real? Or was it just a lucky day?

With a pullback on risk appetite yesterday, it was quite amazing to see the pound hold on to its gains versus the dollar, even as no economic data was released. Still, that could all change today, as we’ve got some political debates on the tube.

The reason why this is important is because there is a lot of uncertainty as to which party the British public is leaning more towards. Is it the Conservatives? Or is it the Labour party? Without getting into the nitty gritty of what these two political blocs stand for, the reason why analysts and traders are concerned about the outcome of the elections is because there is chance that it may end in a “hung parliament”.

A hung parliament is a scenario where there is no majority or ruling party.

With no majority party in parliament, this could delay any concrete plans towards reducing the UK’s debt. It’ll be interesting to see who comes out ahead in the debates and how the British public reacts to them. In any case, be sure to be mark this down on your schedule and watch out!

Another huge gap to start the week? Unlike last week, when the pound enjoyed an upward gap during the weekend, pound pairs saw a downward gap this time around.

The reason why the pound started off on such a sour note is probably the ongoing political fears in the UK. The latest elections survey showed that the lead between the Conservatives and the Labor Party narrowed from 9% to 6%, increasing the likelihood for a hung parliament, wherein no political party holds majority of the seats in parliament. If both parties have different opinions on how to tackle UK’s economic problems, the British government could find it more difficult to find and implement solutions to these.

Aside from that, news of the SEC’s fraud accusation to Goldman Sachs spurred risk aversion and pumped up demand for safe-haven assets.

On the economic front, the freshly released Rightmove HPI report showed that asking prices for homes climbed by 2.6% in April after posting a mere 0.1% uptick in March. According to Rightmove, the rise in house prices was a result of the strong demand for homes during the month.

Tomorrow, the UK is set to release its inflation reports at 8:30 am GMT. Its CPI is expected to climb by 3.2% year-over-year in March while its core CPI could post an annualized 2.8% increase. Hmm, it seems like inflation has already picked up for the UK economy… Could this mean that the BOE would consider ending its quantitative easing programs soon?

Minutes of the BOE’s latest monetary policy meeting are due Wednesday. Would the BOE policymakers still be unanimous with their decision to keep their asset purchase program unchanged? Stay tuned at 8:30 am GMT to find out. Also due Wednesday is UK’s claimant count change, which could show a 5.7K decrease in the number of people claiming unemployment benefits for March.

On Thursday, UK will release its public sector net borrowing report, retail sales, preliminary mortgage approvals, and CBI industrial order expectations reports. Whew, that’s a lot for a day! Public sector net borrowing is expected to climb from 12.4 billion GBP to 24.2 billion GBP in March while retail sales are estimated to post a 0.7% uptick. Mortgage approvals and industrial order expectations are also gunning for improvements for the month.

Last but not the least, on Friday, the UK will release its preliminary GDP report for the first quarter of 2010. Another 0.4% expansion is expected for the quarter and a better than expected figure could provide support for the pound.