What’s been happening? The pound was on rocky form yesterday, with the momentum from Monday’s rebound beginning to run out. Market sentiment was not aided by a disappointing run of UK trade data, which revealed that the visible trade balance had widened to a record deficit of -£14.24 billion in August. This was thanks to a 4.2% surge in imports, with exports growing just 0.7% during the same period. This further cooled belief that the manufacturing sector would experience booming demand from the weakness of Sterling exchange rates. The pound was able to recover against some of its peers later in the day, however, after the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) estimated that GDP had grown 0.4% in the three months to September, while revising its projection for the three months to August up to 0.5%. The euro, meanwhile, was largely on positive form, buoyed by better-than-expected German trade data. Exports grew 3.1% in August – nearly threefold the forecast level – helping to push the trade balance up to €20 billion instead of the forecast €19.5 billion. GBP/EUR losses eased back towards the end of the day’s trading, however, as markets became increasingly uneasy ahead of a session in the Catalan parliament that could have seen the region’s President, Carles Puigdemont, declare independence from Spain. The US dollar was on poor form, thanks to a disappointing business confidence index from NFIB. The index for September clocked in at 103 after confidence scored 105.3 in August, against forecasts of a more modest tick down to 105. | 
