Main Headlines

US Biotech firm Moderna, announced yesterday that their vaccine had passed clinical trials with 94.5% efficacy. The UK managed to secure 5 million doses, to go along with vaccines bought from Pfizer-BioNTech. Moderna’s advantage over Pfizer is a higher efficacy rate, but also can be kept in storage for longer.

Joe Biden held a speech in Delaware yesterday where he made remarks on the economy and attacked Donald Trump for not allowing a smooth transition of power. Biden also praised cities who have tightened restrictions due to widespread rise in cases, although Biden’s advisors have seemingly ruled out a second national lockdown.

David Frost told Boris Johnson to expect an EU trade deal as soon as next Tuesday, according to sources familiar with the issue. This contradicts language from EU officials who postponed the soft deadline on 18th November, as progress on key differences had not been made.

GBP

The pound is slightly higher against both the euro and dollar this morning. Brexit talks are set to continue today, and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey is set to speak on the economic recovery after Covid-19 in a virtual conference, and markets will react to any news on negative rates.

EUR

The euro is mostly unchanged against the dollar this morning. There is a sparse economic data docket today, and focus will be on the fallout of Angela Merkel failing to push through stricter Coronavirus measures, and the smallest increase in French daily cases since mid-October.

USD

The dollar is trading relatively flat against a host of major currencies, but is slightly higher against the Japanese Yen. US equities hit record highs yesterday on news of the Moderna vaccine, and investors will be focused on whether the risk-on trend is set to continue.

Main Economic Data/Central Banks/Government (All times GMT)

2:00 p.m.: BOE’s Bailey speaks
4:00 p.m.: ECB’s Lagarde speaks
4:00 p.m. Russia Oct. Industrial Production
5:00 p.m.: BOE’s Ramsden speaks

OPEC+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee meeting
Global Grain Geneva conference
Bloomberg New Economy Forum