Week in Currency – 08/07/2024

Britain has a Labour government for the first time in 14 years.

GBP

The Labour Party won a landslide general election on Friday, making Sir Keir Starmer the new Prime Minister of the UK. After 14 years in power for the Conservative Party, it was a dramatic collapse after Labour secured 411 of the 649 seats available, a crushing 63% majority of Parliament.

With the result as expected we saw little change to the Pound. With a clear outcome for the election, which is considered favourable for financial markets, it’s expected we’ll see some confidence come back into the Pound over the coming weeks.

USD

The US labour market showed signs of cooling, with the unemployment rate rising in June and the pace of jobs growth in recent months shown to have been lower than previously reported. The economy added 206,000 jobs last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday. That exceeded the 190,000 roles economists polled by Reuters had forecast, but revisions to April and May data meant employment during those two months was 111,000 lower than initially reported.

EUR

The Euro has started this week on a softer footing as France’s election result saw a surprise win the left-wing. The result of the election led to a hung parliament, with Le Pen’s far-right party coming third behind New Popular Front and Ensemble. The two left-wing parties have now signed a coalition, keeping Le Pen’s National Rally Party from power. A new Prime Minister will take office over the next few weeks.

Have a good week!

This week's key data