• German Fin Min spokesperson Kothe: Doesn’t see any destabilization of Italy following Mario Monti’s resignation announcement. Expects Italy to continue its’ current policies
  • Spain Economy Minister: Uncertainties about Italy have contagion effect on Spain
  • EU’s Van Rompuy: Italy’s Monti has been a “great” Prime Minister, hope policies he put in place will continue after elections
  • Italy’s FTSE MIB off hefty -3.6%
  • Italian 2 year note yield up 43 bps at 2.41%
  • Italian 10 year bond yield up 35 bps at 4.88%
  • Spain’s 10 year bond yield up 19 bps at 5.64%
  • Euro sentix index rises to -16.8 in December from -18.8 in November, but slightly weaker than Reuters’ median forecast of -16.0
  • German October sa trade surplus 15.2 bln, weaker than Reuters’ median forecast of 16.1 bln
  • French October industrial output falls -0.7% m/m, weaker than Reuters’ median forecast of +0.3%
  • French November industrial business climate indicator falls to 91 from 92 in October
  • World risks fresh credit bubble, BIS warns - The Telegraph
  • Europe clings to scorched-earth ideology as depression deepens - AEP at The Telegraph

The single currency, it has to be said, has held up pretty well given the political uncertainty in Italy. EUR/USD up at 1.2915 from the 1.2902 which greeted me first thing. Early dip below 1.2900 quickly ran into Middle Eastern buying and that was that.

Buy orders seen clustered 1.2870/80, sell stops below there. Sell orders seen clustered 1.2920/30 and more around 1.2950.

USD/JPY marginally easier at 82.20 from early 82.40. We remain ensconsed in the tidy 81.50-83.00 range, stops seen through both levels.