Former prime minister Boris Johnson withdrew his candidacy in the PM leadership to replace Liz Truss as PM. Johnson announced last night at 9pm that it “would simply not be the right thing to do”. Shortly after his announcement, sterling made brief gains against the dollar and remained choppy throughout the evening.
Johnson’s withdrawal means Britain’s former chancellor, Rishi Sunak now only has one declared rival, House of Common’s leader Penny Mordant. If Mordant does not reach 100 nominations by 2pm today, Sunak will become the UK’s next PM.
Today, markets gain a clearer picture of how Britain’s manufacturing sector is performing, with the latest S&P manufacturing PMI data being released at 9:30am. In September, the index was revised slightly lower to 48.4, pointing to further deterioration for the second month in a row. The leading output decline came from intermediate goods producers.
Over in the eurozone, right-wing nationalist Giorgia Meloni was sworn in as Italy’s new prime minister over the weekend. After her anti-Brussels speeches, which she gained notoriety for, Meloni now faces the challenge of maintaining relations between Italy and Brussels.
Eurozone markets watchers have just seen multiple data releases for S&P manufacturing PMI, including France and Germany. Later today, America’s will also be released (at 2:45pm UK time).
Make sure any upcoming transactions are protected against the risks of sudden market movements. Secure a fixed exchange rate now with a forward contract; call your Personal Trader on 020 7898 0541 to get started.
