Sterling slightly firmer

Sterling is slightly firmer this morning, trading back above the $1.36 level against the dollar and nudging up to around 84.75p against the euro. The latter is not much changed against the US currency as it continues to hover in and around the $1.1550 mark

European equity markets are marginally up at the open today, having lost ground on both Monday and Tuesday, while bond yields are edging higher with German 10-year yields now at -0.10% and equivalent US yields approaching 1.60%

GDP in the UK rose by 0.4% in August from July – with rising output in the manufacturing and services sectors helping to offset a decline in construction – and was 6.9% above its level in August 2020

The IMF expects the global economy to expand by 5.9% this year (after contracting by 3.1% in 2020) and by 4.9% next year, but notes that “the spread of Delta and the threat of new variants have increased uncertainty about how quickly the pandemic can be overcome”

Data due today includes industrial production in the Euro area and CPI inflation in the US