The trigger news for a gap higher for GBP in early Monday trade here were remarks over the weekend from Bank of England Governor Bailey. He said at the next BoE meeting (November 3):

  • As things stand today, my best guess is that inflationary pressures will require a stronger response than we perhaps thought in August”

bringing a +75bp, and perhaps a +100bp, rate hike into contention.

More generally the USD slipped a little in Asia trade today. EUR, CAD, AUD & NZD are all up against the dollar. Traders are warily eyeing the prospect of Bank of Japan yen-buying intervention after comments from Japanese officials hardened, featuring words like “excess’, ‘speculative, ‘rapid’. More on these is here (I’ve posted these links multiple times, but if you have missed them):

Chinese President Xi Jinping gave his speech opening the 20th Communist Party congress in Beijing on Sunday. Of particular note were his remarks indicating no change to the COVID-ZERO policy and no firm indications of extra support for the collapsing property sector. Chinese real-estate sector stocks were hit lower in morning trade. Regional equities more broadly were also heavy. US S&P500 and Nasdaq equity index futures rose in Sunday evening Globex trade.

GBP:

wrap gbp 17 October 2022