Euro marginally firmer

The euro is a little firmer against the dollar and sterling trading back above $1.18 and just over 85.5p respectively this morning, while the pound is hovering around the $1.38 level against the US currency

US 10-year bond yields have retreated from their highs of earlier in the week and are now about 10bps lower at 1.33%, while equivalent German yields have dropped a little to around -0.33%

Fed Chair Powell says “conditions in the (US) labor market have continued to improve, but there is still a long way to go”, and “inflation…will likely remain elevated in coming months before moderating”

The unemployment rate in the UK held steady at 4.8% in the three months to May according to data published earlier this morning

Data due today includes industrial production and jobless claims data in the US, while here at home the CSO publishes national accounts data for 2020 and a second estimate of GDP for the first quarter of this year