Sterling starts the week almost 1% higher against both EUR and USD than last Monday, after the EU Commission president made positive comments on hopes for a Brexit trade deal.
With no UK-EU trade talks this week, the focus will switch to monetary policy, where BoE governor Andrew Bailey may spell out plans regarding a potential move to negative interest rates in two speeches this week (Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon), after saying last week that preparations were under way.
Sandwiched between these will be Markit PMI data on Wednesday morning, gauging how British industry is looking in the immediate future.
The other major market mover will be a potential new lockdown if Covid cases continue to rise.
