Quiet start to the week

It was a relatively quiet start to the week, with the US on a public holiday. Still, we did see the euro slip further against the dollar and it’s now back trading at around $1.2350, which is about  2 cents down from last week’s high

Indeed, the dollar is firmer all round, clawing back ground against the yen to trade at Y107 this morning and strengthening against sterling to under $1.40, the latter  comparing to last week’s high of around $1.4150 for the UK currency (and its 2018 high of $1.4350 set in late January)

Rising US bond yields may be beginning to provide some support to the dollar. The benchmark 10-year yield has edged up to 2.92% – and looks like it might test 3%, a level last seen at the end of 2013 –   while 2-year yields are approaching 2.25%, as the market looks to further Fed interest rate hikes this year

The head of the EEF in the UK will  stress the urgency with which clarity is needed on any transition deal, according to newspaper reports of a speech to be delivered to members today

Data is thin on the ground today with the ZEW index of German investor confidence the only release of note