Today's news headlines:

'UK urged to slash spending after crisis of investor confidence'. The Chancellor will need to find at least £60bn in savings to shore up confidence by the time he presents his fiscal plan on October 31st. The findings by the institute of fiscal studies could force the government to cut public services further despite years of austerity following the Global Financial Crisis a decade ago. The IFS commented that 'the specifics of the UK government's fiscal strategy are under more scrutiny by financial markets than at any point in the recent past', with monetary and fiscal policy in clear conflict with each other, increasing risks to stability. (Bloomberg)

'Brainard offers case for caution as Fed hikes rates aggressively'. Fed officials might look to exercise caution over future rate hikes, despite persistent inflation, as previous increases continue to work their way through the economy. Fed representative Lael Brainard commented that the Fed should move forward in a data-dependent manner, but that policy will remain restrictive for some time to ensure a pullback in inflation. US central bankers see rates rising from the current range of 3% - 3.25% to 4.4% by the end of the year and look to be preparing a fourth straight 75bps hike when they meet in early November. (Bloomberg)

Today

This morning, a measure of the Greenback climbed to its strongest level this month, while the USD/JPY pair climbed back towards the 146 handle, as markets gear up for US inflation and Retail Sales data this week. Equity futures were lower in Europe and the US, with heightened tensions over the Russia-Ukraine war contributing to the cloudy outlook.

Events

UK BRC Retail Sales Monitor y/y: 1.8% vs 0.5% previously
UK Average Earnings Index 3m/y: 6.0% vs 5.5% previously
UK Claimant Count Change: 25.5K vs 1.1K previously
UK Unemployment Rate: 3.5% vs 3.6% previously
IMF Meetings: Day 2
FOMC Member Mester speaks: 5.00PM
BOE Gov Bailey speaks: 7.35PM

Interbank rates*:

GBP/USD: 1.1027
GBP/EUR: 1.1370
EUR/USD: 0.9698
USD/CAD: 1.3833

 

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.