UK house price rise ‘surprisingly’ reaches highest level in two years; Dollar rises after Trump’s threat of tariffs on BRICS – Live economics | Business

The US dollar is recovering after Donald Trump warned Brics bloc countries that he would impose 100 percent tariffs if they challenged the American currency.

Over the weekend, Trump announced that he would impose 100 percent tariffs on the BRICS countries if they adopt a new currency that competes with the US dollar.

The president-elect stated:

We require these countries to commit to neither creating a new BRICS currency nor supporting any other currency to replace the mighty US dollar, otherwise they will face 100 percent tariffs and should expect to refrain from selling to the to say goodbye to the wonderful US economy.

As fears of a trade war grow, the dollar has gained 0.5% against a basket of major currencies – even as there is no agreement among Brics nations to join in with their own currency.

This sent the pound down half a cent to $1.2695.

The euro, also weighed down by political instability in France, was down half a cent at $1.052.

Trump’s comments could be a sign that his administration will favor a stronger dollar.

Jim Reid from German bank told customers this morning

As always with Mr. Trump, it seems like a shot across the bow, but if implemented it probably wouldn’t ultimately be good for the US economy…

This appears to be another indication that dollar strength is an issue for the new administration, unlike Trump 1.0 where it initially tried to talk down the dollar.

Good morning and welcome to our ongoing coverage of the economy, financial markets and the global economy.

House price growth in the UK has “surprisingly” reached a two-year high despite the recent rise in mortgage rates, a new survey shows this morning.

The average price of a home sold in November rose 1.2% compared to October, the lender said Nationwide reports, at £268,144. This is the largest monthly increase since March 20th.

This brings the annual rise in house prices to 3.7% – the fastest since November 2022, shortly after Liz Truss’ mini-Budget – up from 2.4% in October.

Property prices are just 1% below the all-time high reached in summer 2022.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide Chief economist says the pace of the increase is unexpected:

“The acceleration in house price growth is surprising as affordability remains low by historical standards, house prices are still high relative to average income and interest rates are well above pre-Covid levels.

Housing market activity has remained “relatively robust in recent months,” Gardner adds, with mortgage approvals approaching pre-Covid-19 levels.

Gardner adds:

“Solid labor market conditions with low unemployment and strong income growth, also taking inflation into account, have contributed to a steady increase in activity and house prices since the beginning of the year. Household balance sheets are also in good shape, with debt-to-household income at its lowest level since the mid-2000s.

Nationwide also predicts there will be a surge in transactions in the first three months of 2025 as buyers look to close deals before changes to stamp duty take effect next April.

However, these lender surveys cannot provide a perfect measure of the market; They only track buyers who take out a mortgage and not cash buyers. And changes in the “mix” of houses sold can also distort the data.

The agenda

• 9am GMT: Eurozone manufacturing PMI report for November

• 9.30am GMT: UK Manufacturing PMI report for November

• 10 a.m. Christine Lagarde speaks at the EIB Group Climate and Environment Advisory Board in Luxembourg

• 2.45pm GMT: US manufacturing PMI report for November