Main exchange rates steady

The main exchange rates are steady at the off this morning with the euro trading at just over $1.17 against the dollar and at a touch below 91p against sterling, while the pound is still hovering above the $1.29 level against the US currency. European equity markets have opened in positive territory today having ended marginally lower on Friday, while core bond yields have edged down a bit

Negotiations on a future relationship between the EU and the UK are to continue and intensify following talks between Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday, though significant disagreement remains on key issues

The annual rate of CPI inflation in the Euro Area dipped further into negative territory in September according to the flash estimate published on Friday, coming in at -0.3%, while the core, or underlying rate hit another all-time low of 0.2%

The US economy recovered another 661,000 jobs last month according to Friday’s payrolls report, a smaller gain than in the previous couple of months, while the unemployment rate fell further to 7.9% and is now down from a peak of 14.7% back in April

Data due today includes services PMIs in the main economies and retail sales in the Euro Area