Today's news headlines: 

‘Lateral flow Covid tests to be allowed for international arrivals in England’. From the 24^th of October, the UK government will allow vaccinated travellers to use lateral flow tests in place of the standard PCR in an attempt to lower costs. This switch will mean people can take a lateral flow test if arriving from a non-red list country and will only need to upload a picture of the test result for verification. This is another positive step towards normalising travel, but companies have been lobbying for these changes to take effect before the Autumn half term. (Financial Times)

‘Brussels urged to prepare contingency plan for UK trade war’. EU member states are becoming increasingly concerned about the possibility of a trade war with the UK. The UK is threatening to suspend trading arrangements currently in place between the EU and Northern Ireland, with member states demanding contingencies be drafted. The current legislation dictates that all goods travelling from the UK to Northern Ireland are subject to checks. Abandoning the protocol would likely mean retaliation from the EU, such as restricting the UK’s access to the bloc’s energy supplies—a major step in the current market environment. (Financial Times)

Today

US markets had a fiery trading session yesterday, as the S&P 500 gained 1.71% and the Nasdaq rose 1.73% upon publication of more positive quarterly earnings releases. The US 10-year yield has continued to stoop lower throughout the week and is trading at 1.53% this morning, while oil prices continue to march higher as Brent approaches $85. The US Dollar Index dropped below the 94.0 handle overnight, as Sterling and the Euro begin to gain some traction.

Events

Japan Tertiary Industry Activity m/m: -1.7% vs -0.6% last month
US Retail and Core Retail Sales m/m: 1:30PM
US Empire State Manufacturing Index: 1:30PM
US preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment: 3:00PM
Federal Open Market Committee member John Williams speaks: 5:20PM
International Monetary Fund meetings: All day

Interbank rates:

GBP/USD – 1.3707
GBP/EUR – 1.1804
EUR/USD – 1.1612
USD/CAD – 1.2342

The markets are moving. To speak to our team, please call +44 (0)20 3465 8200.