Synopsis:
Bank of America maintains a bullish view on GBP, expecting it to outperform forward market pricing. Their preferred expression is through a lower EUR/GBP, based on improving UK trade dynamics and the potential for renewed investment inflows into the UK.
Key Points:
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Constructive GBP Outlook: BofA's GBP forecasts are more bullish than the forwards, and they see upside in the currency over the coming months.
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EUR/GBP as the Trade: The bank prefers to express its bullish GBP view via a short EUR/GBP position, rather than GBP/USD.
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UK Trade Talks Improve Sentiment: Progress in UK trade negotiations could unlock fresh foreign direct investment (FDI) and portfolio flows that have been subdued since Brexit.
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Limited UK-EZ Asset Reallocation Risk: While Eurozone reforms may incentivize capital rotation within Europe, BofA sees limited contagion from these flows into the UK market.
Conclusion:
BofA recommends embracing GBP strength, particularly through short EUR/GBP trades. With UK trade momentum improving and potential capital inflows on the horizon, the sterling could continue to surprise to the upside.