Sunak's recession warning

Today’s news headlines:

• ‘Sunak warns UK economy could suffer permanent "scarring’’'. The UK’s Chancellor has warned that the British economy may not immediately bounce back from the effects of the coronavirus following yesterday’s record rise in jobless claims. Sunak said that the likelihood of a severe recession could continue to threaten jobs and that optimistic hopes of a V-shaped recession were misplaced. (Financial Times)

• ‘Europe’s coronavirus spread in check as lockdowns loosened’. Officials in Europe’s worst-hit coronavirus hotspot are closely monitoring data for signs of a resurgence of the infection as restrictions on normal activities are phased out. With the gradual return to daily life, officials must focus on more than the lagging indicators of new cases and death tolls. Instead, they might turn to the length of lines outside doctors’ offices or random health surveys to gauge whether new cases will begin to rise once more. (Bloomberg)

Today's events, rates, and data 

• US futures rose overnight along with Asian equities, shaking off concerns over Moderna’s supposedly successful coronavirus vaccine tests. The US Dollar and treasuries were steady, while the Kiwi rose after Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Adrian Orr suggested that any move to bring interest rates below zero remain some way off.

Today's events

Australian Retail Sales                            -17.9% vs 8.5% previously
UK CPI Inflation                                       0.8% vs 1.5% previously
Canadian CPI inflation                            1.30pm
BoE Governor Andrew Bailey Speaks    2.30pm
FOMC Meeting Minutes                          7.00pm

Interbank rates:

GBP/USD: 1.2235
GBP/EUR: 1.1170
EUR/USD: 1.0955