Pound euro exchange rate rises, Tories maintain their lead after manifesto launch

Josh Hardie, the deputy director-general at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), gave a mixed response, saying: “Businesses will be heartened by [the Tory’s] pro-enterprise vision while looking for even more ambition on areas such as access to skills, infrastructure and reaching net zero.” “But the inconvenient truth remains: sustainable economic growth will be risked if there is a needless rush for a bare bones Brexit deal that would slow down our domestic progress for a generation.” Sterling also rose following today’s release of the CBI’s monthly survey of British retailers, which showed a return to stability in November and an end to six-months of falling demand. 

Anna Leach, the deputy chief economist at CBI, commented: “Retailers are entering the festive season with a bit of hope that sales will head up, with the strongest expectations in half a year.”

The euro remained muted in spite of November’s German IFO business sentiment survey, with both current conditions and business expectations indexes improving this month. 

Thomas Gitzel, the economist at VP Bank, said: “One thing is clear now: growth will not go into freefall for the time being.”

“It should be noted that developments in the manufacturing sector precede those in the services sector. The dangers for the German economy have by no means been averted.”

The pound to euro exchange rate could sink tomorrow if December’s GfK German consumer confidence survey rises. 

source: express.co.uk