Gold up by over 0.8% on the day currently
Gold is extending its rebound above the $1,800 level in trading today after managing to close above that following a solid bounce yesterday.

UK vaccine committee chair, Professor Wei Shen Lim, briefs the public
They are adamant that it is safe for use, adding that there will be some protection after 12 days of the first dose and immunisation will only kick in 7 days after the second dose.

A brand new month, but same old story in the equities space
S&P 500 futures are up by over 1% now with European indices also posting a little over 1% gains (UK stocks are 2% higher) so far on the session.

GBP/USD retreats to its 100-hour moving average after testing 1.3400
The pair hit a fresh three-month high earlier in the day, breaching 1.3400 briefly for the first time since 1 September as the high touched 1.3407.

OECD sees a gradual and uneven global recovery over the next two years
„Policy still has a lot to do. If public health or fiscal policy falter then we would see a loss of confidence and a much more depressing outlook.“
As per the usual, take these forecasts with a pinch of salt as they are merely

Pfizer vaccine can be in use in the EU by the year-end if cleared
Pfizer-BioNTech just announced that they have submitted an application to the EMA today to seek clearance for coronavirus vaccine use in the EU.

Latest data released by Eurostat – 1 December 2020

Moderna reaffirms that its vaccine is 94.1% effective in primary analysis
– Vaccine was 94.1% effective in analysis of Phase 3 study, after 196 virus cases
– Vaccine was 100% effective against severe virus cases in trial

Some Brexit remarks by the European Commission
– People, businesses have had time to prepare for end of transition period
– If no-deal contingency plans are needed, they would be limited and adopted in time for 1 January
Some token remarks really, once again not giving anything away with regards to how the state of negotiations are playing

Comments by ECB president, Christine Lagarde
– Fiscal policy is critically important when services sector gets hit
– Fiscal and monetary policy coordination has helped a great deal
So far, she’s mainly speaking about how they have responded to the virus crisis since March. There’s no mention yet about any future policy steps ahead of next month.