The prospect of no-deal Brexit repeatedly sank sterling, only for speculation over a deal to trigger a rally hours later. The pound has fallen close to $1.30 against the dollar, while hitting a high of almost $1.34....Over the month, the FTSE 100 has risen by about 100 points and currently stands at about 7,200....Economists said food prices were likely to rise further over the coming months as a result of higher import prices, which rose by 5.5% in January. The energy regulator, Ofgem, will also lift its energy price cap by 10% in April, boosting the headline rate of inflation further. However, the inflation rate remains below the 2% target set for the Bank of England by the government...Britain’s trade deficit widened in January by more than expected as imports grew faster than exports – a possible sign of a slowdown in the global economy, which could be sapping demand for goods and services abroad. Economists also said Britain raised its imports, possibly reflecting greater levels of stockpiling...Unemployment unexpectedly dropped to the lowest level in 44 years as employers ramped up hiring ahead of Brexit despite mounting fears over a no-deal withdrawal.... Annual growth in average pay remained at 3.4%, the fastest rate in a decade. Despite the apparent good news, economists said the jump in employment probably came as Brexit uncertainty encouraged firms to hire workers to meet demand rather than invest in equipment as it would be easier and cheaper to fire staff in a downturn....Consumers appear to have shrugged off mounting fears over Brexit...Some analysts said that shoppers may have been stockpiling goods ahead of Brexit, though the figures showed that supermarket sales fell, which would appear to contradict this.... The chancellor had used the spring statement to say the recent stronger performance of the public finances would give him as much as £26.6bn to either spend on ending austerity or to fight an economic downturn in the event of no-deal Brexit....House price growth across the country slowed over the past month to the lowest rate in almost eight years, amid fears that no-deal Brexit would cause a crash in property values...
And finally
Economic growth in the eurozone appears to have remained weak in the first quarter of 2019 after a disappointing conclusion to last year. The latest snapshot showed that manufacturing output contracted the most since December 2012 – a period when the eurozone was gripped by the sovereign debt crisis...Brexiters might argue the bad news from the European economy is reason enough for Britain to distance itself from the EU as much as possible. Eurozone GDP is on course to expand by just 0.2% for the first quarter, marginally weaker than the UK....However, the EU accounts for almost half of UK exports, while there has been little adjustment to non-EU trade since the Brexit vote. Bad news for the EU is still bad news for Britain.
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