Sterling hits one-month high as UK growth better than expected
The pound rose after the UK economy posted better-than-expected growth in the second quarter of the year.
Sterling rose 0.1% against the dollar to $1.3583, the highest level seen in a month, and gained 0.2% versus the euro to €1.1618 as the stronger growth made interest rate cuts by the Bank of England less likely.
ICAEW economics director Suren Thiru said: 'While these stronger than expected figures may not ease concerns among rate-setters over the health of the UK economy, a September interest rate cut remains implausible given mounting concerns over rising inflation.'
The economy grew 0.4% month-on-month in June, snapping a run of negative prints — May was -0.1% — and beating expectations for a more subdued recovery of 0.1%.
Read more: UK economic growth slows between April and June
British output rose by 0.3% in the second quarter of 2025, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. That was higher than the 0.1% expected by economists polled by Reuters.
The US dollar index (DX-Y.NYB), which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was near multi-week lows at 97.79.
Gold (GC=F)
Gold extended gains to a third session on Thursday morning, supported by growing expectations that the US Federal Reserve may cut interest rates in September, following subdued inflation data that also weighed on the dollar.
At the time of writing, gold futures were muted at $3,409.40 per ounce, but spot gold inched up by 0.3% to $3,365.05 per ounce.
"Markets are pricing in the chance that the Fed cuts 50 basis points in September. So, the dollar is weakening, gold is going up as a result, yields are also down," said Kyle Rodda, Capital.com's financial market analyst.
"The technical setup of gold looks really constructive. The trend still looks higher. We just basically need to see the market break through $3,400 level on a sustained basis."
Read more: FTSE 100 LIVE: Markets muted as Zelensky to meet Starmer before Trump-Putin summit
Data released on Tuesday revealed that the US consumer price index (CPI) rose largely in line with expectations. Analysts noted that the full effects of tariff-driven price increases have yet to be reflected in the broader economy. The mild inflation data further strengthened the case for the Federal Reserve to lower its benchmark interest rate at its upcoming meeting. Markets place a 95% probability on a rate cut in September.
Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as gold, making the metal more appealing to investors.
Oil (BZ=F, CL=F)
Oil prices climbed on Thursday as investors assessed the potential impact of the upcoming US-Russia summit on Ukraine, set for Friday. Markets are particularly focused on how the meeting might affect Russian crude flows, with secondary sanctions threatening Moscow's customers. However, a growing supply outlook kept oil's gains in check.
Brent (BZ=F) crude futures rose 0.6% to trade at $66.04 per barrel, at the time of writing, while West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) futures climbed 0.7% to $63.06 a barrel.
Donald Trump raised tensions on Wednesday, threatening "severe consequences" if Russian president Vladimir Putin does not agree to peace in Ukraine. While Trump did not specify the nature of these consequences, he warned of economic sanctions if the Alaska summit on Friday yields no breakthrough.
"The uncertainty of US-Russia peace talks continues to add a bullish risk premium given Russian oil buyers could face more economic pressure," Rystad Energy said in a client note.
Stocks: Create your watchlist and portfolio
"How the Ukraine-Russia crisis resolves and Russia flows change could bring some unexpected surprises."
Despite geopolitical tensions, oil prices were capped by a surprise increase in US crude inventories. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), stockpiles rose by 3 million barrels during the week ending 8 August.
Additionally, an IEA forecast predicting that global oil supply would grow more rapidly than expected in 2025 and 2026 weighed on prices. This is due to a rise in output from Opec and its allies, as well as increased production from outside the group.
In equities, the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was in the red on Thursday morning, down 0.3% to 9,135 points. For more details, on market movements check our live coverage here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Meet the British billionaire who still works harder than anyone he knows
'Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds'. This was a phrase used by economist John Maynard Keynes and he is so right. If you go down the status quo road, you will always be mediocre. You have to have alternative thought. It is a lesson the late Richard Thornton taught me. I had first met him at his London office in the late 1970s, having had no idea what I wanted to do after leaving university. I had studied economics at Oxford but didn't really know what a bond was. Richard was in a hurry to hire young people for his new company GT Management (now LGT) on a starting salary of £5,000 and the job based in Hong Kong. I was thrown into the deep end and within days I was managing other people's money. I didn't own a suit and I later used it as a rag to wipe my car down as it was so cheap. Read More: 'In our workplace, we look for passionate, slightly unhinged mountain climbers' The company grew very quickly into an international investment leader. In 1979, there were still capital controls from the export on foreign currency from the UK. When Margaret Thatcher came to power she abolished the premiums and there was a boom from the 1980s onwards. It was a great time to be a fund manager. Richard was in his late 40s, a ball of energy and was highly impulsive, which was a bad thing in fund management. I was his 'bagman', we travelled a lot to Japan, I had to prepare all the questions for meetings and it was a lot of fun. An office was later opened in San Francisco and I was put in charge as a 21-year-old of their US fund at the start of the tech boom. Richard saw me as a hard-working person and someone he could rely on. I later met a house build company in Ireland, said we should buy 25% of the company and so Richard invited the two brothers over for lunch. The fact they had six glasses of wine each didn't impress him and, thanks to his irascible temperament, said we had to sell all the shares, which then went up 100 times. Richard was later fired from his own company after shouting at a subordinate. He asked staff whether they would like to join him in a new company and the only person who said yes was me. Read More: 'I returned to my old office to sell ties after being made redundant' I could put up with his temper as I had a vision to be an entrepreneur and invested cash in a new business called Richard Thornton Management. We went to $1bn in a year and sold to Dresdner Bank four years later. It gave me enough money to start my own business as Richard had become very unpredictable and would take to phoning up staff very late at night. It's not the way I have ever operated and I now get up at 4am and don't work after 6pm. You have to have some rules in your life otherwise you will be overwhelmed. I also never shout at my employees, most of whom have been with me for 30 years. Treat people kindly and you get a lot more back. I gave up fund management in 2000 and since then I have maybe done too many things: biotech, property investment, the food business. I am interested in new things and have worked harder now than I did in my early twenties. Where most people talk about cultivated meat, 'clean food' is our definition of what we are now doing at Agronomics. We are trying to make it more accessible to investors and the general public and making bio-identical foods and materials using laboratory conditions. We are building a factory in the US dedicated to the production of dairy and egg proteins. We own 52% of the company and the $120m facility will be making eggs without chickens, dairy without cows, with very low emissions, no contaminants and low land and water use. In an industry where people are against it for luddite reasons, we started Agronomics four years ago and the asset value has trebled. We have two customers which will absorb the factory's capacity for the next five years. The UK is a leader in food tech and it's important for the government to get behind it. It's a growing eco system but it's not enough when you consider we import about half of our food into the UK. Read More: Meet Britain's 'king of billboards' who sold his business for £1bn We are in the same situation today of food insecurities as we were before the Second World War, so why would we not use our natural strength in this area at home? If I hadn't applied to Richard and got the job over 40 years ago, I would not have the luxury of doing passion projects like this which I now have. That is all down to him. He was very bright, intemperate and very disorganised. I'm maybe not as bright as Richard was, but I am very organised and temperate. Those three factors, plus working harder aged 68 than anyone I know today, is what gets me up in the morning and to be very joyous about life. Read more: Meet the 'jokers from London' who sold 100,000 blocks of butter in first 10 weeks 'My sofa took six months to arrive — so I built a £20m business' 'I paid myself £4 an hour to get my Rollr deodorant off the ground'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Alexander Isak CLOSER to Liverpool as Newcastle career turns toxic
Newcastle opened their 2025/26 Premier League account with a 0-0 draw away from home at Aston Villa on Saturday. It was a creditable result - but the Magpies really ought to have got more out of the game. They had 16 shots and only three on target - dominating Villa on the xG metric with 14.7 to only 0.13. There is no doubt that the enforced exclusion of Liverpool target Alexander Isak had plenty to do with their lack of firepower on the day. 🔴 Shop the LFC 2025/26 adidas home range Shop the LFC Store 🚨2025/26 LFC x adidas range🚨 LFC x adidas Shop the away range TODAY LFC x adidas Shop the home range today! LFC x adidas Shop the goalkeeper range today LFC x adidas Shop the new adidas range today! Isak, 25, is effectively on strike in the hope of pushing through a move to Anfield before the conclusion of the summer transfer window. 🔴 Shop the LFC 2025/26 adidas away range Newcastle knocked back Liverpool's opening bids for the Swede - but after a TOXIC outing perhaps the club will see sense and accept the next one. Isak out of the Newcastle squad Isak doesn't want to play for the Geordies any longer - and if the conduct of the club's fans is anything to go by they they don't want the No14 back either. The logical outcome from here is a quick sale to Liverpool in order for both clubs - and Isak himself - to move swiftly on. Newcastle value their star attraction at around £150m but a deal could be possible at £135m. It remains to be seen what Liverpool come back with but Eddie Howe will have learned on Saturday that there's no way it can continue like this. Eddie Howe wants resolution 'The door is well and truly open. He has to decide what he wants to do. I would like a resolution,' the Newcastle boss said after the game. His side had been hopeful of wrapping up a deal for an Isak replacement BEFORE the player transferred out of the club. That makes sense; once selling clubs understand their desperation, then the price gets jacked up accordingly. But Newcastle may have no choice but to offload Isak and then go on the hunt for another target. They have already missed out on Joao Pedro - as well as Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko. All have moved elsewhere with Ekitike opening his Liverpool account in the 4-2 win against Bournemouth on Friday night. © IMAGO Let's wrap up Isak deal Newcastle instead toiled with Anthony Gordon up top rather than on his more effective left-wing station while William Osula was a late substitute. But now we move closer to the end game. Newcastle's fans have made it clear what they think of their EFL Cup-winning hero right now and Howe had admitted it's time for a decision to be made. They need Alexander Isak sold so they can move on with their season with another player at No9. Otherwise their ambitions for the campaign ahead will unravel. And that means the vacancy left up top at Anfield by Darwin Nunez will soon be taken by a new British record transfer in the shape of Isak. These next few days promise to be crucial.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Liverpool star willing to join Barcelona as talks open
Liverpool kicked off their Premier League title defence with a 4-2 win at home against Bournemouth on Friday night. Goals from Hugo Ekitike - on debut - as well as Cody Gakpo, Federico Chiesa and Mohamed Salah ensured victory for Arne Slot's Reds. 🚨2025/26 LFC x adidas range🚨 LFC x adidas Shop the away range TODAY LFC x adidas Shop the home range today! LFC x adidas Shop the goalkeeper range today LFC x adidas Shop the new adidas range today! Nonetheless the Anfield side were made to endure some difficult moments defensively - with the Cherries pulling two goals back from 2-0 down. Antoine Semenyo was the beneficiary of some questionable defending on the part of the Reds - with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate both coming under scrutiny for their part in the goals. Liverpool in tricky position over Konate It has been revealed that Van Dijk was suffering the effects of a virus in recent days while Konate may well be distracted by talk over his future. Despite kicking off the season as first choice in Slot's backline, the 26-year-old may not be at the club by the time the transfer window closes. His current contract expires in 2026 and if no agreement is reached over a new deal then he could well be sold. With the France international effectively running down his deal, Liverpool are in a tricky position. Konate willing to move to Barca They have signed 18-year-old Giovanni Leoni as cover with Jarell Quansah having joined Bayer Leverkusen. But there could well be more movement in the centre-back area with Sempre Barca now claiming that Barcelona have opened talks with Konate's entourage over a move to Camp Nou. It had earlier been reckoned that Konate would leave for Real Madrid if he were to leave Anfield this summer but the process looks to have been stepped up with Barca in recent days. The source is claiming negotiations are underway between the Spanish champions and the defender - who is said to be open to the prospect of moving to Catalonia. © IMAGO - Ibrahima Konate Liverpool Barca actively chasing Konate 'Deco remains in contact with the player's camp, and the club is actively pursuing this operation,' the report reads - adding that Liverpool would seek €50m in the event that Konate is sold this summer. Barca have lost Inigo Martinez to Al-Nassr - opening up a space in the centre of defence which they would like Konate to fill. Nonetheless talks with Liverpool are described as Konate's priority at this stage - with the player keen to learn what Richard Hughes is willing to give him to stay. Konate has rejected all of Liverpool's previous attempts to secure him to a new deal and the Premier League champion would like around £200k per week to renew. It appears that Konate is therefore keeping his options open and learn about interest at other clubs - putting Liverpool under pressure to wrap up a deal.
