June rate hike still on the cards after Yellen speech

• USD - Fed Chair Yellen Speaks
• GBP - BRC Retail Sales Monitor y/y: -1.0%
• AUD - NAB Business Confidence: 6

It was a relatively quiet day in the forex markets yesterday as economists’ anxiously waited for Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s speech yesterday evening. Yellen spoke at the University of Michigan, where she took questions from the audience via Twitter. Yellen’s tone was mildly bearish as she suggested that there could still be little slack in the labour market, despite the latest bullish unemployment reading. However, the market remained stable as Yellen did little to change the market’s expectations of a June interest rate hike.

In the UK, Barclays Chief Executive, Jes Staley, is to be investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Staley attempted to discover the identity of the whistleblower, who sent a letter to the Barclays board about a senior employee back in June 2016. Staley asked an internal investigation team and a US law enforcement agency to identify the individual responsible for the letters, who Staley believed were an “unfair personal attack” on the employee.  As a result, Staley will receive a formal written reprimand from the board and a large cut to his pay. 

• GBP - CPI y/y: 2.3%
• ALL - G7 Meetings
• GBP - PPI Input m/m: 0.4%

The week continues light on the data front. UK CPI the only piece of high tier data released today. CPI, which is a key indicator of a countries inflation is expected above the Bank of England’s target of 2% at 2.2%. Inflationary worries have begun to resurface in the UK, so a figure below the 2.2% will be welcome from the BoE.