And just like that, another month is about to end and we are officially about to enter October- for a year where we couldn’t do much, time definitely seems to have flown faster than usual!

Last week was relatively volatile, in the midst of another announcement by Chancellor Rishi Sunak and announcements of new restrictions in the UK by PM Boris Johnson. So with that said, what do we need to be focused on over the next month?

– Furlough scheme definitely ending in October
– Job retention scheme met with a lot of criticism and doubts on if it will protect many jobs.
– UK/EU Talks still on the fence (Not expecting anything different until the 11th hour anyway)
– New restrictions in the UK- With more lockdowns happening by the day.
– Coronavirus cases rising every day in the UK. (6874 on Friday)
– US Presidential election getting closer and closer.

Brexit talks will continue over the next week with a meeting of the Chief Negotiators on Friday; from that point both sides will have until October 15th (The self imposed deadline) to reach an agreement. From where I stand, if this is a GENUINE deadline, then a deal is possible, but if they have the option of kicking the can down the road until December, I think that is the more likely option. Friday’s progress update will be interesting to see if either side has anything positive to say- unfortunately Pound Sterling exchange rates are vulnerable to Brexit headlines and move sharply on anything on the wires.

Across the pond, it seems that the U.S Dollar has begun to show strength again, pushing GBPUSD rates down to 1.27 and EURUSD into the 1.16 area- if Covid cases continue to rise, we may see the Dollar flex it’s muscles as a safe haven status through October.

There has been much chatter about a UK lock down, or at least one coming to London soon- which looks more likely by the day- cases are rising, last week’s restrictions didn’t actually make much of a difference, and it seems that with schools going into half term in October, the month makes sense for the Government to maybe look at another lock down to curb the rising infections- cases are rising sharply and hospitalisations are slowly rising as well.

As always, if you have a particular situation you need a hand with please don’t hesitate to contact me. Stay safe.