This week's focus in the UK will be on the Bank of England's minutes. These will be released alongside the first estimates for Q3 Gross Domestic Product on Friday. UK retail sales figures for September are due ahead of these. In the US, Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke will make a speech on "crisis assessment and current economic conditions in the US" this week. The week also sees housing data in various forms and the Fed's Beige Book report. Europe looks forward to industrial new orders and business sentiment in Germany.

Sterling

Sterling continued to recover reaching three-week highs against the US dollar and claw back against the euro. This was a complete reverse for the pound after it slumped to six-month lows against the euro and near five-month lows against the dollar earlier last week.

US Dollar

The USD continued to slide as positive economic data, as well as upbeat corporate earning reports, improved risk appetite and sent the dollar lower as investors sought out higher yields.

Euro

Trade balance figures for the eurozone showed a slip into deficit in August after a big surplus in July. The deficit was €4 billion compared with a surplus of €12.3 billion in July. After reaching 14-month highs against the USD and six-month highs against the pound earlier last week the euro was forced to retreat on the news.

Japanese Yen

The Tertiary Index showed the demand for services rose for a third month in August, signalling that Japan's recovery is markedly spreading to consumers. The yen has strengthened on the news and with no further data of note due, this trend may continue over the course of the European trading session.

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