US GDP from Q3 released today

The dominating theme today and this week will no doubt be the release of Q3 GDP in both the UK and the US. Today it is the time to focus on UK Q3 GDP, with this number having a large bearing on the direction of Sterling over the next few weeks, especially as it comes against a backdrop of talk about further measures to stimulate the UK economy.

Expectations are for a slowdown to 0.4% in Q3 from June's Q2 reading of 1.2% as consumer confidence has waned during the summer.

Yesterday's comments by MPC member Paul Tucker to the CBI suggested that their may be more MPC members leaning towards more QE. The voices for holding back from further QE are also starting to become more vocal due to the current level of inflation as members are more concerned about inflation in some parts and the effects further QE could potentially have further down the line.

On the data front, there was another worrying sign for UK housing market yesterday as the British Bankers Association loans for house purchases fell to an 18-month low of 31,100 in September, down from 31,800 in August. The number re-iterate weakening domestic demand and increased consumer caution towards their personal finances amid the government's planned spending cuts.

Aside from UK Q3 GDP, the focus will be on a number of US data releases today which includes US house prices and the Conference Board's consumer confidence survey.