Sterling relinquishes Friday's gains against the euro

The pound climbed for the third consecutive day against the euro on Friday, supported by strong equities, to close at 1.1462, its highest point in over a week.

• Trading was particularly tight on Friday morning as investors were reluctant to put on big positions ahead of the August non-farm payrolls data in the US.
  
• However the data proved to be a mixed bag and had little impact on the pound / euro pairing, which continued to trade marginally in sterling’s favour throughout the day.
  
• The pound was supported though by a strong showing in the equity markets, which have held significant sway over the strength of the pound in recent weeks.
  
• Trading this morning has seen the pound slip from Friday’s highs, currently trading around 0.3% lower, with investors remaining wary of the UK’s recovery, following the words of the OECD that forecast a slower recover for Britain.
  
• In the eurozone today, data is released on Germany factory orders at 11:00BST, with analysts actually forecasting a 2.5% reduction from last month, whilst in the UK there are no major economic announcements.