The Dollar made good gains against the Euro and Sterling with cable easily breaking through the 1.50 barrier. The Yen made major gains across the board ahead of the Asian holiday and Euro/Yen carried on with its downward spiral.
The Euro is expected to come under pressure this week with the market expecting the ECB to cut rates by 0.5% with some quarters calling for a 0.75% cut. The Euro was also under pressure with S+P showing concerns over the sovereign debt of Ireland and Greece with a rating watch.
In the UK Mr. Brown delivered a speech outlining incentives for employers to take on the long term unemployed. Sterling was also hit by the CBI survey stating that the financial services sector was suffering and a further 15,000 jobs could be shed in the first quarter of the year.
Today on the data front we have the UK international trade balance due this morning around 9am and with the US and Canada releasing the same data in their respective countries this afternoon. Also in the US we have the Fed chairman speaking around 10am UK time, we have the ID consumer sentiment release and also at 7am UK time the FED Budget numbers.