GBP
Growth in Britain’s services sector has slowed more than expected, as hiring
eased to its slowest pace since March 2014. This suggests the economic recovery
weakened at the start of the second half of the year. The Markit services PMI
dipped to 57.4 in July from 58.5 in June, still indicating expansion among
services businesses.

Taking into consideration this week’s manufacturing and construction surveys,
the reading points to economic growth of 0.6% in the three months to July

GBP
Growth in Britain’s services sector has slowed more than expected, as hiring
eased to its slowest pace since March 2014. This suggests the economic recovery
weakened at the start of the second half of the year. The Markit services PMI
dipped to 57.4 in July from 58.5 in June, still indicating expansion among
services businesses.

Taking into consideration this week’s manufacturing and construction surveys,
the reading points to economic growth of 0.6% in the three months to July
is slightly lower than the 0.7% reported by the Office for National
Statistics for the three months to June.

USD
Tuesday evening the dollar rose to its highest level in over three months after
hawkish comments from a voting member of the US Federal Reserve’s policy
setting committee. Atlanta Fed president Dennis Lockhart said there would need
to be a significant deterioration in economic activity to hold the Fed back
from raising rates in September.

The ADP Employment estimate was disappointing yesterday coming in at 185k.
The consensus was for a rise to 215k. This was the smallest increase since
April and is the fourth reading below 200k this year in comparison to last year
it was below 200k only once.

In July the service sector in America indicated a slight rebound in
service sector activity growth, following the five-month low recorded in June.
The latest survey also highlighted a strong and accelerated rise in new work,
alongside a further robust upturn in payroll numbers. At 55.7 in July, the
index picked up from 54.8 in June and remained above the neutral 50.0 threshold
for the twenty-first consecutive month.

EUR
The Markit Eurozone PMI Composite Output Index posted 53.9 in July, down from
54.2 in June and above the earlier flash estimate of 53.7. Solid expansions of
output were signaled in both the manufacturing and service sectors, with the
slightly faster rate of growth in service providers.

Spain registered the best rate of economic growth of the big-four Eurozone
nations, with the pace of expansion moving back towards April’s 101-month record.

In Greece, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says the country is on the final
stretch of concluding a deal with its creditors. Despite difficulties, he is is
hopeful the deal will end the uncertainty surrounding the future of Greece and
the Eurozone. An agreement or a bridge loan must be agreed by Aug. 20, when a
3.5 billion euro debt payment to the European Central Bank is due. Both sides
have said such a deal is possible, although the European Commission described
the target as ambitious, suggesting much remains to be done.

Key
Announcements:

12:00 – GBP: Bank of England Minutes
12:00 – GBP: Bank Of England Quarterly Inflation Report
12:00 – GBP: Bank of England Governor Mark Carney speech
12:00 – GBP: Bank of England Vote Hike Expected to be 7-2 in favor of
remaining unchanged 
13:30 – USD: Initial jobless Claims expected to rise to 273k from
267k