SONIA Either Side Of Unchanged To Start

SONIA futures sit 1.0bp softer to 0.5bp firmer through the blues, with an early Friday downtick in core global FI futures noted ahead of the gilt open.

• Volume remains typically light at this time of day.
• BoE-dated OIS is little changed to 1bp softer through the ’24 MPC contracts.
• An FT interview with BoE chief economist Pill crossed in the early London hours.
• Pill focused a lot of his opening remarks on the need to assess both the supply and demand side of the economy when it comes to inflationary pressures. He also cautioned that inflation remains stubbornly high, with UK monetary policy experiencing a “difficult phase.” Ultimately, Pill stressed that “the challenge for the monetary policymaker is to ensure that there is enough persistence in the restriction of monetary policy to bring those components of inflation down.”
• Elsewhere, the latest GfK consumer confidence reading was a little firmer than expected, but the metric still sits comfortably in negative territory. GfK’s client strategy director told MNI that “the volatility in recent readings suggests a country unsure of its economic outlook..”
• The domestic docket is essentially empty ahead of the weekend, with fiscal fallout from the Autumn Statement/DMO updates still garnering the bulk of the attention in the local press.