Main exchange rates steady

The main exchange rates are broadly steady this morning. The euro is starting off pretty much in line with where it closed out last week against the dollar at around $1.1850, which is around a cent lower than where it was trading immediately following Thursday’s ECB meeting. Sterling, meanwhile, is hovering just above $1.28 and just over 92p against the dollar and the single currency respectively, having lost a good bit of ground over the course of last week as Brexit tensions flared up

Equity markets in the US ended flat on Friday but lost ground for a second week running, while European equity markets gained more than 1.5% on the week.  US 10-year bond yields fell by around 5bps on the week to 0.66% and equivalent German yields were unchanged at about -0.48% as they both continue to trade in relatively narrow ranges

ECB President Christine Lagarde says the “the appreciation of the euro (has) partly offset the positive pull (on inflation) coming from our (stimulus) measures,” adding the “near-term price pressures will also remain subdued due to the recent appreciation of the euro exchange rate”

The UK government will put its Internal Market Bill before the House of Commons for a second reading and debate today, which will give an indication of the extent of the opposition to it from within Boris Johnson’s own party

Both the Fed and Bank of England announce monetary policy decisions this week – on Wednesday and Thursday respectively – with both likely to stay on hold as their economies continue to rebound from a collapse in output in the second quarter

Data due this week includes industrial production in the Euro Area and the US today and tomorrow respectively as well as retail sales in the US on Wednesday