Quiet day on markets

It was a quiet day on markets yesterday with the UK and US out on public holidays. As a result, there was little change in the main currency pairs with both the euro and sterling if anything a touch weaker against the dollar at just under $1.12 and just under $1.27 respectively, leaving the pound largely steady against the single currency trading at a little over 88p

Bond yields in Germany dipped further into negative territory to close at about -0.15%, and so really within a whisker of their all time low of -0.20% set  back in 2016. Equivalent Italian yields, in contrast, rose on the day, after the strong showing of League (one of the current government parties) in the European Parliament elections over the weekend prompted speculation that it might lead to an early general election in the country

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond has warned Conservative leadership candidates (and Prime Minister wannabes) that they will not “survive very long” if they try and take the UK out of the EU without a deal

Data due today include the European Commission’s Economic Sentiment Indicator for the Euro Area – which posted its first increase in 10 months in April – and  consumer confidence and house prices in the US and