Dollar a touch weaker

Both the euro and sterling have gained some ground against the dollar to trade at close to $1.19 and near $1.29 respectively this morning, leaving the single currency-pound rate largely unchanged at just over 92p. US equity markets kicked off the week on a positive note gaining more than 1% yesterday but European stocks ended flat on the day, while core bond yields were little changed overall

The UK government’s Internal Market Bill comfortably passed its second stage in the House of Commons yesterday and will be debated again next Tuesday when MPs will have the chance to try to amend it, before then going to the House of Lords

The unemployment rate in the UK rose to 4.1% in the three months to July, up from 3.9% in the three months to April, and in the month of July stood at 4.4%

Industrial production in the Euro Area rose for a third consecutive month in July, increasing by 4.1% from June, though not surprisingly it was still down on the same month in 2020

In China, the annual rate of growth in industrial production accelerated further in August (to almost 6%) and the year-on-year rate of growth in retail sales turned positive for the first time since the end of last year, suggesting the rebound in the economy from its first quarter collapse is continuing

Data due today includes industrial production in the US