| Time | Country | Event | Period | Previous value | Forecast | Actual |
|---|
| 05:45 | Switzerland | Unemployment Rate (non s.a.) | April | 2% | | 2% |
| 06:00 | Germany | Factory Orders s.a. (MoM) | March | 4.5% | -2.2% | -10.7% |
| 06:30 | Switzerland | Consumer Price Index (MoM) | April | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0% |
| 06:30 | Switzerland | Consumer Price Index (YoY) | April | 2.9% | 2.8% | 2.6% |
| 06:45 | France | Non-Farm Payrolls | Quarter I | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| 06:45 | France | Industrial Production, m/m | March | 1.4% | -0.3% | -1.1% |
| 07:00 | Switzerland | Foreign Currency Reserves | April | 743.01 | | 732.205 |
| 08:30 | United Kingdom | PMI Construction | April | 50.7 | 51 | 51.1 |
| 09:00 | Eurozone | Retail Sales (YoY) | March | -2.4% | -3.1% | -3.8% |
| 09:00 | Eurozone | Retail Sales (MoM) | March | -0.2% | -0.1% | -1.2% |
GBP strengthened against most of its major rivals in the European session on Friday as investors prepared for a meeting of the Bank of England next week, which is anticipated to deliver another rate increase.
In the wake of the latest rate decision from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, the BoE is also expected to raise its rates by 25 basis points next Thursday as inflation in the UK remains strong. That would mark the 12th straight interest rate hike and lift the BoE’s benchmark rate to 4.5%, the highest level since October 2008.
According to Reuters, markets see the BoE’s rate peaking at around 4.8% later in the year.