USD 
The Pound Sterling’s performance on Friday ensured it secured its third week of
gains against the U.S Dollar, having ended the UK session flat on the day.
Early in the day Sterling had climbed higher following the contrarian hawkish
rhetoric release from the Bank of England’s Kristin Forbes that UK rates would
rise sooner rather than later.

By mid to late afternoon on Friday, these gains were wiped out following the

USD 
The Pound Sterling’s performance on Friday ensured it secured its third week of
gains against the U.S Dollar, having ended the UK session flat on the day.
Early in the day Sterling had climbed higher following the contrarian hawkish
rhetoric release from the Bank of England’s Kristin Forbes that UK rates would
rise sooner rather than later.

By mid to late afternoon on Friday, these gains were wiped out following the
release of better than expected US data in the form of the Michigan Consumer
Sentiment Index. The print of 92.1 beat consensus expectations and last month’s
print of 89.0 and 87.2 respectively. 
 
Friday also saw the release of better than expected US Capacity Utilisation
data, released by the Federal Reserve Board at 1415 London time. The print of
77.5% was slightly up on the consensus forecast of 77.4% and down on the
previous month’s print of 77.8%. The reading indicates the percentage of the US
production capacity which is actually used over the short-time period, in this
instance the month of September. 
 
GBP
Kristen Forbes, a policymaker at the Bank of England, is seen as a likely early
advocate for a BoE rate hike. She said on Friday that the UK had limited direct
exposure to the problems seen so far in developing nations, even taking into
account how they might hit key trading partners such as Germany.

Concerns over growth in China and other major emerging markets have seen the
markets shift expectations of a first interest rate hike by both the UK and the
US far into next year. 
 
Chinese GDP growth figures came out at 6.9% at 3am this morning, lower than
last month’s reading of 7.0% but ahead of consensus expectations of 6.8%.
Although better than consensus, the continued slide adds credence to fears that
hurt the U.S. Dollar and Sterling further, and spurs expectations of another
round of policy easing by the European Central Bank – a potential negative for
the euro.

EUR
Friday morning, the market saw the release of Consumer Price Index data for the
month of September for the Euro Area. The reading of 0.2% was directly in line
with the previous months reading and the consensus forecast, and had little
impact on the sideways trajectory of GBPEUR, which continued seven weeks of
range trading. 

Key Announcements
15:00 – USD: NAHB Housing Market Index (Oct) expected to remain constant
at 62