Main currencies steady

After some mild volatility last week, the main currency pairs are stable at the start of this week with the euro and sterling trading at around $1.17 and just under $1.37 against the dollar respectively, leaving the single currency-pound exchange rate still trading in and around 85.5p

The was a notable move up in bond yields last week, triggered by a more hawkish than expected monetary policy statement from the Bank of England – which said the case for an increase in interest rates had strengthened – with UK and US 10-year yields rising by around 10bps to 0.95% and 1.45% respectively and equivalent German yields increasing by just a little less to -0.24%

The SPD party has narrowly won elections in Germany, albeit the result has yet to be officially confirmed, and a period of negotiations on forming a new coalition government will now follow

At home, the Economic Pulse came in at 88.3 in September, down slightly from August with consumer confidence holding steady but business sentiment slipping on the month

Data of note due this week includes CPI inflation in the Euro area on Friday and consumer spending and PCE inflation in the US, also on Friday