Offshore investment expert: D-day will come with Bank quarterly inflation report

An offshore investment expert has suggested data due to be released next week by the Bank of England, combined with a Federal Reserve decision on interest rates, mean Wednesday is "D-day" for the pound and near-term UK economic performance.

Jeremy Cook, chief economist of overseas banking and foreign exchange consultancy World First, commented on the fall of sterling following the publication of worse-than-expected manufacturing output results from June.

He observed: "The past week has shown the economic picture in the developed world is still very fragile indeed."

And the offshore investment specialist claimed economic data to emerge next week may have a significant negative impact on sterling, saying it is "likely to lose a chunk of its recent gains".

The figures might also have an effect on private wealth invested in British funds, as speculator risk appetite may weaken in the face of less-than-positive fiscal outlooks.

Reuters reported sterling fell 30 pips to $1.5870 against the dollar, while the euro rose from 82.93p to reach a high of 83.10p.  ADNFCR-2318-ID-800015391-ADNFCR