Dear Reader,

Today's overview of economic news and market action

• Investor sentiment remained cautious yesterday …
• Against this backdrop, the dollar stayed in the ascendancy …
• The yen was on the defensive, amid dovish remarks from new PM Ishiba …
• Elsewhere, sterling was under some downward pressure overnight …
• EUR/USD opens this morning in the bottom half of $1.10-1.11 …
• GBP/USD is operating back below the $1.32 handle …
• EUR/GBP is in the top half of 83-84p …
• USD/JPY  is above the halfway mark of ¥146-147 …
• Today, the US non-manufacturing ISM (Sept) is due …

All rates quoted are indicative market rates.

Budget 2025 is set against exceptional budget surpluses. The starting point is a nearly €24bn surplus in 2024, including windfall proceeds from Apple Judgement of €14bn this year. The budget surplus is forecast to be €23.7bn in 2024 (7.5% of GNI*), and €9.7bn in 2025 (2.9% of GNI*). However, excluding windfall receipts, the Government will run significant deficits in the coming years