How will the Autumn Statement impact pound sterling exchange rates?

Philip Hammond has no easy task ahead this week as he sets out his plans for the UK economy moving forward. With Brexit still dominating politics and economics there is lots of pressure on the Chancellor to outline an economic plan of Britain that will match the commitments of the new Prime Minister and her colleagues. As always there have been a few leaks in the press over the weekend so let us look at these and work out how it will affect the economy and the pound moving forward.

You don’t have to travel too far in the UK to be reminded of the problems with UK roads. Report suggest over £1bn worth of investment in UK roads with a new expressway between Oxford and Cambridge. Infrastructure spending is to be much welcomed as it will increase efficiency of travel around the UK which will only help business. This should be good for the pound in many respects since it will help the UK economy longer term.

There is a flipside in that government borrowing is at record highs and further borrowing goes against the grain of what previous Tory administrations worked hard to (unsuccessfully) establish. If you look to the last election the Tories gained power on economic prowess promising not to tip the country into massive debts which of course they still did. If the current administration now spends lots it could risk upsetting the financial markets that so strongly backed the Tories last year.

Times have of course changed and given the backdrop of Brexit and a mood that tough austerity just isn’t necessary we could see more leeway from markets. On the whole I would expect the Autumn statement to be cautiously seen as sterling positive but any clients looking to buy or sell this week should be preparing their exchange today to limit their exposure and be preparing for the date.

If you are considering an exchange and wish to talk to a specialist about the relevant issues and ins and outs of transferring money at the very best rates of exchange please speak to me Jonathan Watson by emailing [email protected] or please fill in the form below.

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