Sterling holding in well

Sterling is holding in very well despite (the lack of) developments in the Brexit talks over the weekend. It continues to trade in and around the 88p level against the euro and at over $1.31 against the dollar. Meanwhile, the single currency is little changed against the dollar, trading just under $1.16

In a statement on the Brexit negotiations to parliament yesterday, the UK PM, Theresa May was careful not to pour fuel on the fire. Indeed, she said the EU and UK have made real progress in the talks in recent weeks, that the two sides are “not far apart”, and that a “deal is achievable”, but acknowledged that a few “critical issues” are still to be agreed, most notably the Irish border backstop

The Italian government has presented its draft budget proposals to the EU Commission, which seems likely to conclude that they fall foul of its fiscal rules

Retail sales in the US increased marginally in September from the previous month though the rose quite strongly in Q3 as a whole, suggesting consumer spending will make another sizeable contribution to GDP growth in the quarter

Data due today include the latest labour market report (Q3) in the UK and industrial production in the US