Euro holding above $1.15

The euro is off its best levels of yesterday against the dollar but is still holding above the $1.15 level, as the Fed continues to indicate it is likely to hold off from any further increase in US interest rates for a while. The pound is a little softer though against the US currency (at under $1.2750), leaving it also weaker against the euro at about 90.5p, with next week’s Brexit vote in the UK parliament the big focus for the market

It was more of the same for equities yesterday which generally chalked up modest gains, and this is continuing at the start of play for European stocks this morning, while bond yields in the core markets have been relatively steady for the past couple of days have moved higher at the start of this week

Fed Vice Chair Clarida says that while growth in the US last year looks like it was the strongest in 13 years, inflation surprised somewhat to the downside. Now, with what he calls “crosswinds” to the US economy, related to slower growth recently in the global economy, he says the Fed can be patient before deciding whether to raise interest rates again

Data due today include GDP in the UK – the pace of growth is expected to have eased in the 3 months to November according to the consensus forecast – and CPI inflation in the US, which is expected to have fallen to 1.9% in December from 2.2% in November reflecting the impact of lower oil prices recently