Daily Market Report – 01/09/2014 GBP The Pound strengthened against a host of its major counterparts on Friday after UK house prices edged up 0.8% in August, marking the sixteenth successive monthly price rise. As a result, the annual pace of house price growth is up to 11% from 10.6% in n July. “While this is still below the 11.8% recorded in June, house price growth continues to outpace earnings by a wide margin, with average wage growth running at less than 1% in recent months. GBP The Pound strengthened against a host of its major counterparts on Friday after UK house prices edged up 0.8% in August, marking the sixteenth successive monthly price rise. As a result, the annual pace of house price growth is up to 11% from 10.6% in n July. “While this is still below the 11.8% recorded in June, house price growth continues to outpace earnings by a wide margin, with average wage growth running at less than 1% in recent months. EUR The Euro lost some ground during Friday’s session after Euro-zone inflation dropped as expected to a fresh five year low in August, but it was not likely to force the European Central Bank into immediate policy intervention next week. Consumer prices in the 18 countries using the euro rose by just 0.3 percent year-on-year in August, the smallest increase since October 2009. Inflation, which dropped unexpectedly to 0.4 percent in July, has been locked in what ECB President Mario Draghi called a ‘danger zone’ of below 1 percent since October last year.The figures have reiterated analyst’s belief the Euro-zone is facing additional struggles because of economic sanctions imposed against Russia in July over its involvement in the deepening conflict in Ukraine. Key Announcements: 09:30 BST – GBP – Manufacturing PMI (August) Expected to be lower at 55.00 09:30 BST – GBP – Mortgage Approvals (July) Expected to be lower 66.6K Our dealers are available via e-mail ([email protected]) or by phone (020 7220 8181)