Fed prompts fall in bond yields

The Fed kept interest rates unchanged at last week’s meeting. While a hike before the end of this year seems likely, the Fed lowered the expected path for rates over the next couple of years. This prompted a fall in US bond yields with the benchmark 10-year yield almost 10bps lower at just over 1.60%

The dollar lost some ground against the euro post the Fed meeting, falling to an intra-week low of just over $1.1250 before recovering a little

Sterling remains on the back foot – it is trading just shy of 87p against the euro this morning and at $1.29 against the dollar (its post Brexit vote lows to date  are  87.25p and $1.28 respectively)

Brent oil is trading at $46 per barrel as a meeting of global energy minsters kicks off today. There is talk of a possible oil production freeze but we’ll have to wait and see if anything concrete emerges

Data due this week include revised estimates of second quarter GDP in the UK and the US, while consumer spending and inflation are also schedueld in the US