Sterling slipped against the US dollar, falling off a 6 week high as perceived ‘riskier’ currencies came under pressure on growing concerns over today’s EU summit. However, sterling was slightly higher against the euro, hovering around €1.15/£1 as optimism over a fully comprehensive solution slipped. Markets have overall been very quiet as investors tread water to see the results of the summit, with no-one willing to hold large positions in case the reaction causes large movements against them. This saw hardly any movement as Bank of England governor Mervyn King testified to the Treasury over the decision to restart Quantitative Easing this month. It is a relatively quiet day for data with the main focus being on the European summit so call in now for a live exchange rate.

In the euro zone, plans to announce a final rescue deal today seemingly hit further hiccups yesterday as it was announced that a key meeting of European economic and finance ministers has been delayed. This meeting would prepare the detail of any political decision, so the implication is that a full package will not be available to scrutiny today. Markets clung onto optimism that a solution will be reached, but the euro slipped away against the US dollar on poor US data. It goes without saying that today could be volatile so call in now to protect yourself.

In the USA, poor financial results from several companies combined with a sharp drop in consumer confidence figures to add to a cautious tone yesterday. Demand for US government bonds rose as investors looked for a safe haven ahead of today’s EU summit. In addition, the US dollar hovered around a record low against the Japanese yen on concerns over intervention by the Japanese authorities held back further purchases of the Japanese ultra-safe haven currency.

Elsewhere, the Vatican has finally waded into the debate over the credit crisis calling for sweeping reforms of financial markets and the creation of an ethical global authority to regulate financial markets.

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