Quiet start to the week

It was a quiet start to the week with the main exchange rates trading in narrow ranges and largely unchanged on the day. Hence the euro continues to hover just below $1.10 against the dollar and at just over 89p against sterling, with the pound trading at circa $1.23 against the dollar

Bond yields in the core markets nudged up yesterday with US and German 10-year yields a couple of basis points higher at around 1.58% and -0.56% respectively, and equivalent UK yields closing at 0.45%. It was a mixed day for equity markets with US indices closing lower after Friday’s gains but European stocks gaining some ground

Industrial production in Germany rose marginally in August according to data released earlier this morning after declining in three of the previous four months, but was still down 4% on the same month in 2018, indicating this sector of the economy is not out of the woods yet

Fed member Kaskkari says he’s ‘happy’ the central bank is cutting interest rates, noting that business investment in the US and global growth are slowing, meaning the Fed should be supporting the US economy by easing monetary policy

It’s Budget 2020 day here at home today, while data due includes unit labour costs in the UK and producer prices and small business optimism in the US