Still in the Christmas period when trading volumes are low and the issuance of UK economic data somewhat sparse. Sterling lost a bit of ground as activity focussed on the safe haven status of the US$.

A bit more excitement in the euro zone. The Italian government successfully issued some six month bonds at a much lower interest rate than expected. This was viewed positively. Today we have the Italian government issuing a tranche of longer dated bonds and it will be very interesting to see if they end up paying a lower than expected interest rate.

The US$ gained ground against sterling on the back of a large sale of sterling. This accentuated the US$’s safe haven status. US economic activity continues to be positive which bodes well for the US$ as we enter 2012.

Please remember we are still “open for business” as we come to the end of a very busy 2011.

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