Greek rescue package boosts the Euro

The Euro rallied yesterday as EU finance leaders unveiled its standby €30bn emergency aid package for debt-stricken Greece. The long awaited rescue package was pledged on Sunday and went some way to relieve concern about Greece's ability to repay debt obligations in 2010. It also soothed fears about Greece's debt crisis spreading into the rest of Europe, hampering economic recovery.

The news saw the Euro regain a cent against both the US Dollar and Sterling, getting back below €/$ 1.36 and towards £/€ 1.13 respectively.

On the data front yesterday, the US budget deficit narrowed to $65.4bn in March from $191.6bn a year ago while the US National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) said it is too early to assume the US is out of recession "although most indicators have picked up".

Today UK retail sales and BRC retail sales are released along with CPI releases from Germany and France. In the US, the February trade deficit is expected to widen in February reflecting the higher price of crude oil and a faster pace of imports.