ECB meeting today

The euro is largely unchanged against the dollar this morning trading a tad below $1.18, though it has slipped to under 86p against sterling with the latter have regained ground against the US currency to trade back above the $1.37 level again

US equity markets rallied for a second consecutive session yesterday with European stocks also chalking up solid gains. Meanwhile, US 10-year yields retraced some more of their fall at the start of the week, rising by 7bps to just shy of 1.30%, while equivalent German yields were marginally higher at -0.39%

The ECB Governing Council meets today, the first get-together since announcing the outcome of its recent monetary policy strategy review. The latter hasn’t any immediate consequences for its policy stance – it is likely to keep both interest rates and the size of its emergency bond purchases programme unchanged – but it may indicate that persistent monetary accommodation is necessary to achieve its new 2% inflation target on a sustained  basis

Data due today includes consumer confidence in the Euro area and jobless claims and existing home sales in the US