Main Headlines:
The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to Texas’ law that restricts abortion rights early next month but will allow the law to remain in place until the appeal is heard. The law prohibits terminations of pregnancies after roughly six weeks, restricting the rights of women and their families in the state. This is the most restrictive curb on reproductive rights in the country, backed by a Republican governor and legislation. The Justice Department aimed to overturn the law but an appeals court allowed for it to be reinstated on constitutional grounds. Protests have taken place all over Texas, but particularly in Austin related to the abortion laws.
UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak will use this week’s Autumn Budget to shore up fragile public finances in the country, as well as focusing on the NHS, the “levelling up” agenda, tackling economic inequality and helping to boost the country’s skill base. The Chancellor is expected to be given a short-term Budget windfall by the Office for Budget Responsibility, which is set to upgrade its forecast for stronger growth across the economy in 2021 and 2022. Sunak admitted that UK public finances were more exposed to changes in interest rates which could cost the exchequer £25bn a year in the event of a 1% rise in inflation or interest rates.
Markets
GBP
Sterling is strong against most majors in overnight trade. Health Secretary Sajid Javid has stated that it may soon become mandatory for NHS workers to be double vaccinated, stating it was his intention, but final decisions were yet to be made. The NHS is also due to receive an extra £5.9bn in Wednesday’s Budget. The UK government is not planning strict economic measures throughout the winter to deal with Covid-19 cases accelerating in the United Kingdom, according to Chancellor Rishi Sunak. Richard Ratcliffe, husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian aid worker held in Iran on spying charges, has started a hunger strike in Whitehall to aim to get the UK government to do more to secure her release.
EUR
The euro is higher against dollar and lower against sterling overnight. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday said he had ordered the country’s Foreign Ministry to declare 10 ambassadors from western countries “persona non grata” after the diplomats called for the release of an imprisoned civil-society leader, Osman Kavala, who has been imprisoned for four years. Ambassadors from the United States, Germany, France, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, Norway and New Zealand all signed the letter. Former European Council President, Former Prime Minister Donald Tusk was elected leader of Poland’s main opposition force, Civic Platform, in party-wide elections this weekend. Tusk, who ran unopposed, captured over 97 percent of votes on a turnout of 73.3 percent of party members.
USD
The dollar is lower against most majors in early morning trade. Russia’s premier intelligence agency, the SVR, has launched another campaign to pierce thousands of U.S. government, corporate and think-tank computer networks, Microsoft officials and cybersecurity experts warned on Sunday, only months after President Biden imposed sanctions on Moscow in response to a series of sophisticated spy operations it had conducted around the world. President Biden stated that the US would not step back and not change its views on Taiwan, sending a warning to China that it would defend Taiwan in the event of an attack from mainland China. US intelligence agencies are warning critical industries in the country, including AI and biotech industries of the danger of doing business with China.
Ballinger & Co. Morning Report–25th October 2021
Today’s Rates
GBP>EUR – 1.1823
GBP>USD – 1.3780
EUR>USD – 1.1655
GBP>CAD – 1.7009
GBP>AUD – 1.8363
GBP>SEK – 11.819
GBP>AED – 5.0607
GBP>HKD – 10.713
GBP>ZAR – 20.359
GBP>CHF – 1.2636
Today’s Calendar
· EUR IFO – Business Climate(Oct)
· EUR IFO – Current Assessment(Oct)
· EUR IFO – Expectations(Oct)
· USD Chicago Fed National Activity Index (Sep)
· GBP BoE’s Tenreyro speech
Today’s Highlights
· Forex Today: Critical week for markets kicks off quietly
· EUR/USD eyes key upside break above 1.1650
· Current softer tone of the USD is viewed as corrective – Rabobank
· GBP/USD drops towards 1.3750 as dollar rebounds
This document has been prepared solely for information and is not intended as an Inducement concerning the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. By its nature market analysis represents the personal view of the author and no warranty can be, or is, offered as to the accuracy of any such analysis, or that predictions provided in any such analysis will prove to be correct. Should you rely on any analysis, information or report provided as part of the Service it does so entirely at its own risk, and Frank eXchange Limited/Manor House Foreign eXchange Limited accepts no responsibility or liability for any loss or damage you may suffer as a result. Information and opinions have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation is made as to their accuracy. No copy of this document can be taken without prior written permission.