- EUR/GBP moves little as traders adopt caution ahead of French Prime Minister François Bayrou’s confidence vote.
- President Trump announced that European leaders will visit the United States to discuss potential solutions to the Russia-Ukraine war.
- Robust UK consumer demand supports the Bank of England’s restrictive policy stance.
EUR/GBP holds ground for the second successive session, trading around 0.8680 during the Asian hours on Monday. The currency cross maintains its position as the Euro (EUR) steadies, driven by market caution amid political uncertainty in France.
French Prime Minister François Bayrou is poised for near-certain defeat in Monday’s confidence vote, threatening to destabilize the Eurozone’s second-largest economy. The government’s likely collapse risks worsening France’s political paralysis at a crucial moment for Europe as it seeks unity amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, per Reuters.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that European leaders would visit the United States (US) on Monday or Tuesday to discuss how to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump added that he was “not happy” about the status of the Russia-Ukraine war, after a massive Russian air assault overnight on Sunday.
The Euro receives support ahead of the European Central Bank (ECB) meeting due on Thursday. Traders expect the ECB to keep rates unchanged for the second consecutive meeting, supported by steady growth and inflation hovering near the target.
Eurozone Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose 0.1% QoQ, exactly as expected and unchanged from the earlier estimate, while annual growth picked up slightly to 1.5% from 1.4%. Moreover, the Eurozone Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) rose at an annual rate of 2.1% in August, after having risen 2% in July.
The Pound Sterling (GBP) may gain ground as strong consumer demand in the United Kingdom (UK) leads to higher consumer inflation and reinforces the restrictive policy stance by the Bank of England (BoE). United Kingdom (UK) Retail Sales surprisingly grew at a faster pace of 0.6% month-over-month in July, compared to the 0.2% expected. The Retail Sales climbed by 1.1%, missing estimates of 1.3% but faster than the 0.9% increase seen in June.
