Sterling fell at the last hurdle last week – how will this week fare?

Sterling struggled on Friday, giving away the recent gains seen against the US dollar despite weaker-than-expected US non-farm payrolls data.

We expect this week to be quiet, with investor focus trained on the US where we will be hearing from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later in the week when she reports to the Senate banking Committee on Wednesday/Thursday. The main point of interest in the UK will be the latest trade balance figure released on Tuesday. Following this, manufacturing production throughout January is likely to have the highest impact, with sterling likely to gain support should this figure beat expectations.