Pound euro exchange rate rises as Eurozone industrial malaise trumps lower UK inflation

Last month, cheaper energy dragged inflation lower, recording a contraction of 0.8 percent between December and January.

The latest inflation figures will put the focus back on real wages and the cost of living, and with average basic pay increasing by 3.3 percent annually, real earnings are growing by around 1.5 percent. 

The Eurozone also recorded some disappointing data this morning, as seasonally adjusted industrial production contracted by a worse-than-expected -0.9 percent in December. 

Output fell by -4.2 percent compared to the previous year, showing that factories in the bloc suffered their worst month since the financial crisis. 

Yesterday afternoon, BoE Governor Mark Carney gave a speech in which he stated Brexit offered an “acid test” on the future of global trade.

Following Dr Carney’s speech, the pairing rose, with his optimism clear when asked by a journalist whether the UK was “the canary in the coal mine for the new world order,” he joked: “The bird may be towards the bottom of the cage, but it’s still fluttering.”

As there is an absence of notable economic data releases for the UK for the rest of today, Brexit is likely to remain a catalyst for movement into the afternoon and tomorrow. 

The Eurozone’s seasonally adjusted GDP figure is due for release on Thursday, with a forecast of 0.2 percent growth in Q4 2018.

If GDP shows slower growth in Q4, it could see the GBP/EUR pairing rise on dampened sentiment for the euro. 

source: express.co.uk