Gilt futures are up slightly from......>

GILT SUMMARY: Gilt futures are up slightly from the drop at the open Wednesday,

but remain weaker amid more upbeat Italian fiscal news, and ahead of PM May's

speech.

- The Dec 18 Gilt future is down 7 ticks at 121.25, but trading off the lows,

having traded in a range of 121.09-121.29 today.

- There has been a touch of bear steepening, with the 2-Yr yield up 1.2bps at

0.809%, 5-Yr up 1.2bps at 1.137%, 10-Yr up 1.6bps at 1.544%, and 30-Yr up 1.3bps

at 1.906%.

- Main domestic focus is the final day of the Conservative Party conference in

Birmingham. The 'Campaign 2022' session including PM May's keynote address is

scheduled to begin at 1000BST. Could provide more clarity on a Brexit deal -

particularly with regard to the Irish border which has been the main issue of

contention.

- Key UK data is Services PMI due at 0830GMT, which came in at 54.3 in August

and is expected to drop a touch to 54.0.