Sterling was undermined by the very acrimonious political tone as parliament resumed business..
The dollar strengthened to 10-day highs, primarily reflecting a lack of confidence in other major currencies, while higher US yields were also supportive. The Euro failed to make headway and EUR/USD dipped to near 2-year lows.
Sterling was undermined by the very acrimonious political tone as parliament resumed business.
There was optimistic rhetoric on US-China trade from President Trump, although market conviction was lacking as impeachment manoeuvring continued.
Global equity markets were little changed despite US gains with fears that rhetoric could rapidly turn negative again.
Precious metals were undermined by higher yields and dollar gains but found support at key levels. Bitcoin stabilised, but without a significant recovery.
UK mortgage approvals declined slightly to 42,600 for August from 43,300 previously. The CBI retail sales survey recovered to -16 for September from -49 previously with a net positive figure for the car sector, although this was the fifth successive figure in negative territory and retailers expected another decline for October amid weak underlying sentiment.
The House of Commons resumed business after its suspension had been deemed unlawful, but the confrontational rhetoric increased fears that there would be no compromise to reach a Brexit deal. In this environment, Sterling lost ground as the high degree of uncertainty undermined confidence amid fears over a lack of inward investment.
European Parliament Brexit coordinator Verhofstadt stated that the UK had only presented potential components as an alternative to the Irish backstop. Sterling lost ground steadily with EUR/GBP moving above 0.8850 despite vulnerability elsewhere while GBP/USD declined sharply to lows below 1.2350 before a marginal recovery.
Economic Calendar
Expected | Previous | ||
---|---|---|---|
07:00 | German GfK Consumer Confidence (OCT) | 9.7 | 9.7 |
09:00 | ECB Economic Bulletin | - | - |
13:30 | USD GDP (Annualized) | 3.10% | 2.00% |
13:30 | USD GDP Price Index (Q/Q) | 0.80% | 2.50% |
13:30 | USD Goods Trade Balance(AUG) | - | -72.46B |
13:30 | USD Continuing Jobless Claims | 1.665K | 1.661K |
13:30 | USD Initial Jobless Claims | 212K | 208K |
13:30 | USD Wholesale Inventories | - | 0.20% |
15:00 | USD Pending Home Sales (M/M)(AUG) | - | -2.50% |
15:00 | USD Pending Home Sales (Y/Y)(AUG) | - | 105.60% |