London Open Briefing: Friday, September 18, 2026

The London open follows an Asian session marked by a risk-on tone, with XAUUSD up +1.07%, USTEC gaining +0.84%, and the JP225 rising +0.65%. This sentiment is reflected in the +0.19 reading on the risk meter. The Japanese Yen was the weakest currency over the past 24 hours, down -0.74%, contributing to significant moves in GBPJPY up +0.62%, EURJPY up +0.58%, and USDJPY up +0.53%.

Ahead in the European session, the primary focus is on the ECB President Lagarde Speech at 10:30 UTC, a high-impact event. Positioning data indicates a +0.65 hawkish lean for recent ECB speeches. Later, the US session brings several medium-impact data releases, including Fed Industrial Production m/m and y/y at 13:15 UTC. Consensus for m/m is 0%, following a previous 0.2%, while y/y consensus is 0.9%, down from 1.1%. Fed Governor Bowman is also scheduled to speak at 13:30 UTC, followed by the CB Leading Economic Index m/m at 14:00 UTC, with a consensus of -0.1%.

In terms of market positioning, the crowd has shifted 9pt toward short on USDCHF and 9pt toward long on EURUSD over the past 24 hours. Retail books show a 24 point disagreement on GBPJPY.

Traders will pay close attention to the ECB President Lagarde Speech.

Scheduled this session (High and Medium impact)

Times are UTC. This brief describes measured market state and the published schedule. It is not financial advice and nothing in it is a trade recommendation.