The signs look omnious for the US Dollar this week…

Last Friday's US GDP numbers didn't really offer any clues as to how far in a certain direction the Federal Reserve is likely to go at this weeks Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting with respect to further stimulus measures, seeing as the data came in pretty much on expectations at 2%.

What isn't in any doubt is the importance of this week's events for a number of currencies as we head towards the end of the year. With President Obama's democrat party set for a battering in tomorrow's mid-term elections and with the Federal Reserve set to embark on further quantitative easing on Wednesday, the US Dollar doesn't seem to have a lot going for it at the moment.

It has been a rather different experience for Sterling with last week's data driving the currency higher against the US Dollar and Euro following the better than expected UK GDP figures for Q3. The GDP was well supported by a 0.6% rise in services and a 1.0% rise in manufacturing output as the emphasis for the markets remains on recovery.

All eyes however will be on Wednesday's FOMC announcement in the US, where the size and shape of the Fed's quantitative easing programme is likely to be revealed, along with any rate changes.

The BoE is also due to release a rates statement on Thursday, though a 20th month at 0.5% is widely anticipated. Friday also sees the release of the all-important US non-farm payroll figures.