The Aussie moved ahead of sterling on the week, adding about a cent; not a significant achievement. Inexplicably it kept close company with a motley group including the Canadian dollar, the Swiss franc and the yen – currencies which more usually find themselves at opposite ends of the spectrum. Two reasons for this apparently random movement were the Thanksgiving holiday in the States and investors' mounting confusion about Euroland; they combined to create an illiquid and jumpy market.

An ecostat drought provided just two data; the leading [economic] index went positive in September, rising from -0.2% to 0.1%, and construction work carried out in the third quarter was 12.5% more than in the previous three months.