The Pound Sterling eased away from a 6-week peak as FX traders exercise caution ahead of this week's EU summit. There had been some encouraging signs from EU negotiators that a Brexit deal could be brokered within the next two months which helped to prop up the Pound. But nervous jitters as a result of the power struggles within the UK Prime Minister's own political party has resulted in a more tentative mood and effectively capped any additional gains for the Pound.
As reported at 11:12 am (BST) in Tokyo, the GBP/USD was trading lower at $1.31, down 0.22% and off the session high of $1.3171. The EUR/GBP was trading higher at 0.88938 Pence, a gain of 0.16% and edging toward the session peak of 0.89037 Pence.
UK Data Eyed
Ahead of the EU summit, Sterling watchers will key in on tomorrow's release of a slew of data for the UK. Analysts and economists are predicting that August's personal inflation rate will have fallen to 2.4% from 2.5% (year-over-year), while August's core inflation, which removes food and energy prices, will have dropped to 1.8% from 1.9% (year-over-year). Producer Prices are also expected to see a decline, while Retail Prices are likely to be stagnant on a year-over-year basis.