Euro off its high

The euro was on the front foot against the dollar for most of last week (as indeed were the other major currencies). It gained around 1.5 cents to end close out Friday trading at $1.24, although this was also about 1.5 cents off its intra-week high of $1.2550

The single currency has also eased back somewhat against sterling. Having risen to over 89p in the middle of last week, it kicks off this week at about 88.5p (the range in place since October of last year is 87p to 90p)

US 10-year bond yields continued to edge up and the differential over equivalent German yields widened out for a third consecutive week. Meanwhile, equity markets rebounded after the recent sell-off, with US and European stocks gaining around 4% and 3% respectively

Retail sales in the UK remained soft at the start of the new year, rising marginally (+0.1%) from December

Data due this week include the latest labour market report and a second estimate of Q4 GDP in the UK, while the Fed publishes the minutes of its recent meeting (Wednesday) as well as its annual monetary policy report (Friday)