Euro a touch firmer

The euro is a touch firmer against both the dollar and sterling this morning, trading at $1.04 and 88p respectively, while the pound is hovering just above $1.18 against the US currency

US government 10-year bond yields are marginally higher at about 3.85% at the start of play today, while equivalent UK and German yields are largely unchanged and a little lower at 3.35% and 2.12% respectively

In equity markets, US stocks closed down around 1% yesterday, having chalked up gains of 6% last week, while European stocks added around 0.5% on the day

Employment in the UK fell slightly in the third quarter, declining by 0.2% – or 52,000 – from the second quarter, though the unemployment rate nudged down to 3.6% from 3.8% reflecting an increase in “inactivity” (or people leaving the labour force). The tight labour market is contributing to rising earnings, which in the private sector rose by 6.6% year-on-year in Q3, up from 5.5% in Q2

Fed’s Brainard says “it will probably be appropriate soon to move to a slower pace of (interest rate) increases,” but adds that “what’s really important to emphasize, we’ve done a lot, but we have additional work to do”

Economic data due today includes a second estimate of third quarter GDP in the Euro area and producer prices in the US