• Risk sentiment on European stock markets soured around the US opening as Japanese newspapers report that North Korea shows signs of preparing a missile launch. Main US stock indices open up to -0.5% lower (Nasdaq).

  • The Bank of England signaled that officials are preparing to raise interest rates within months to restrain accelerating inflation, a fresh sign that a decadelong era of ultraloose central-bank policy is slowly drawing to a close. EUR/GBP lost more than one figure, dropping from 0.9020 to sub-0.89 area.

  • US CPI beat forecasts in August, ending a 5-month run of misses. Headline CPI rose by 0.4% M/M and 1.9% Y/Y. "Increases in the indexes for gasoline and shelter accounted for nearly all of the seasonally adjusted increase in the all items index," said the Labor Department. Core inflation rose by 0.2% M/M to stabilize at 1.7% on a yearly basis.

  • The Swiss National Bank kept its policy rates unchanged, but changed its tone on the franc. The SNB ditched its nearly three-year mantra that the franc was "significantly overvalued", but still thinks that it is "highly valued". The central bank reiterated its commitment to "intervene in the foreign exchange market as necessary".

  • Donald Trump has tied a deal to protect undocumented workers who arrived in the US as children with his campaign promise to increase security along the Mexico border, denying he struck a deal with Democrats on legislation legalising the status of so-called "Dreamers".

  • North Korea has threatened to destroy Japan with nuclear weapons and "reduce the US mainland to ashes and darkness" in response to the countries' effort to ramp up sanctions on the isolated east Asian nation. "The four islands of the [Japanese] archipelago should be sunken into the sea by the nuclear bomb of Juche".

  • Another prolonged bout of wrangling over the debt ceiling in the US could prompt Fitch to review the country's AAA credit rating with "potentially negative implications", the agency said.

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This non-exhaustive information is based on short-term forecasts for expected developments on the financial markets. KBC Bank cannot guarantee that these forecasts will materialize and cannot be held liable in any way for direct or consequential loss arising from any use of this document or its content. The document is not intended as personalized investment advice and does not constitute a recommendation to buy, sell or hold investments described herein. Although information has been obtained from and is based upon sources KBC believes to be reliable, KBC does not guarantee the accuracy of this information, which may be incomplete or condensed. All opinions and estimates constitute a KBC judgment as of the data of the report and are subject to change without notice.

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