Sterling's resilience and China’s tactical game

This week Eimear Daly and Paul Robson explore the reasons behind sterling’s strength against uncertainty both politically in the UK and geopolitically in the Middle East. They also discuss Chinese-US relations ahead of the Trump-Xi summit, and the value of the yuan ahead of Donald Trump’s visit there. Key takeaways:- UK political risk may matter more to sterling later in 2026 than immediately.- The Trump–Xi summit could become a major catalyst for USD direction, and Asian currencies.- Markets are increasingly focused on capital flows, reserve diversification and long-term exposure to US assets. You can also find this episode of Currency Exchange on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. This episode was recorded on 7 May 2026.For any terms used please refer to this glossary https://www.natwest.com/corporates/insights/markets/glossary.htmlPlease view our full disclaimer here: https://www.natwest.com/corporates/disclaimer.html