UK finance minister Hammond speaking in parliament 18 July

  • high debt levels leave Britain "vulnerable to future shocks"
  • if markets lose confidence in UK fiscal policy they would re-price lending to the UK
  • we would be doing a huge disservice to taxpayers if we created the conditions that caused the cost of that debt to rise

Hammond is currently under a lot of pressure to lift the pay cap on public sector pay.

  • underlying economy robust amid record employment
  • inflation is hurting but exports, investment plans are up
  • over time the UK will adjust to weaker pound

Not hoping for any significant rise just yet then.

GBPUSD a tad lower at 1.3020 and EURGBP nudges up to 0.8879

UK fin min Hammond says UK economy will get used to weaker pound