Today's news headlines:

‘Fed to hike big again and open door to downshift’. The Federal Reserve will meet this evening and is expected to deliver a fourth straight 75 basis point interest rate hike. This should see the target range move to 3.75%-4%, the highest for 14 years. The key in this meeting, as always, will be the language. It’s to be expected that rate increases will continue for the foreseeable, but any hint of more moderated moves is likely to move markets. Growing pressure from politicians to slow the pace of tightening as mortgage costs soar is unlikely to sway the central bank as red-hot inflation remains the sole focus. (Bloomberg)  

‘China locks down area around “iPhone City” in blow to Apple’. China’s zero Covid approach does not appear to be disappearing anytime soon. The Government ordered a one-week lockdown of Foxconn Technology Group’s headquarters in Zhengzhou, responsible for manufacturing Apple’s iPhone devices. This is likely to worsen production for the iPhone 14 in the run-up to Christmas, with Apple already scaling back the number of units on offer after demand was softer than expected on release. It is believed the factory has stockpiled the necessary components to deal with a lockdown, but an extension of the measures could cause issues. (Bloomberg)

Today

The Dollar is softer heading into the Federal Reserve's meeting later today, while shares in Asia and Europe moved higher. US Treasury yields have declined in early trading, with the 10-year bond yield sitting at 4%, while commodities such as oil and copper advance.

Events

UK BRC Shop Price Index YoY (Oct): 6.6% (5.7% prior)
Australia Building Approvals MoM (Sep): -5.8% (est. -10.0%)
Eurozone Manufacturing PMI (Oct): 09:00AM
US MBA Mortgage Applications (Oct): 11:00AM
US ADP Employment Change (Oct) 12:15PM
Federal Reserve Interest Rate Decision: 6:00PM
​​​​​​​
Interbank rates*:

GBP/USD – 1.1508
GBP/EUR – 1.1632
EUR/USD – 0.9893
USD/CAD – 1.3591

 

Please contact your Dealer about any upcoming FX requirements you may have, or call +44 (0)20 3465 8200. 

*Indicative interbank rates taken on the day of writing. Please speak to your Dealer to find out the current rates available for you.