The US Philly Fed figure for Febuary came in at 41.3 which was the lowest since 1990 indicating contracting manufacturing orders which will impact unemployment. This was reflected in the US weekly jobless claims for the week of 7th of Feb which came out at 4.987 million and the FED has indicated unemployment may hit 8.8% this year. Overall the dollar range against sterling was 1.4241-1.4447 and against the euro was 1.2558-1.2759.
The GBP/EUR traded with a low of 1.1245 and a high of 1.1391 yesterday. Data released showed that state debt including estimates for the liabilities of RBS and Lloyds has jumped to £2.2 trillion, equivalent to around 150% of GDP, which contradicts Gordon Browns pre budget forecasts of a peak of 57%.
The FTSE bounced from a 3 month low, Barclays being one of the top gainers.
The Euro recovered from a 3 month low against the dollar. Sentiment was lifted as the German finance minister signalled that they would support action if a member state found it could not refinance its debt.
Eastern Europe is the main focus of concern as ten international banks, including Commerzbank and Unicredit, pledged $2 billion and seven Ukrainian-controlled banks pledged $1 billion in order to recapitalize their subsidiaries in Ukraine.