Markets await Yellen

Sterling eked out further gains against the euro yesterday, strengthening to under 85p for a bit before giving up some ground, and rose to just over $1.32 against the dollar

The euro continues to trade in a relatively narrow range against the dollar and is hovering just below $1.13 this morning

Equities were mixed with US stocks down around 0.5% but European stocks outperforming, gaining around 0.5%. The latter, though, have underperformed notably through the general equity market recovery from the post UK referendum lows

Markets await Janet Yellen’s speech tomorrow at the annual Jackson Hole conference and will be keen to hear if she signals that an interest rate increase is likely before the end of this year

Data due today include jobless claims and durable goods orders in the US, while in the UK the CBI publishes its August retail sales survey