24/08/2026
MARKET UPDATE
Inflation and GDP the main talking point this week.
The exceptionally quiet macroeconomic calendar for the UK continues through its final week of August. Market participants will focus almost exclusively on Friday’s upcoming Nationwide House Prices release, which serves as the sole domestic data publication scheduled for the period.
Across the English Channel, the eurozone economic docket proves considerably more active. Germany, recognised as Europe’s largest economic powerhouse, initiates regional data releases with its latest gross domestic product figures on Tuesday. The European trading week concludes as several other member nations publish their respective economic output statistics.
Shifting attention to the United States, the primary macroeconomic highlight arrives mid-week on Wednesday with the publication of preliminary gross domestic product figures. Current consensus estimates point toward a notable quarter-on-quarter contraction, anticipating a decline to 3.4% from the previous reading of 4.4%.
Finally, developments within South African currency markets show the British Pound against the South African Rand trading at 21.83. Concurrently, the United States Dollar versus the South African Rand exchange rate stands at 16.01, drifting progressively closer toward the 15.72 low established earlier this year.