Oil falls, BOJ holds, Carney stays, what people are talking about

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Oil trades below $47, Mark Carney stays at the Bank of England, and one week to got to the U.S. election. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about today.

Oil stays low

A barrel of West Texas Intermediate for December delivery was trading near a one-month low at $46.66 at 6:20 a.m. ET with analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predicting a slide to the low-$40s if an OPEC deal to cut output fails to emerge. Gasoline futures in New York jumped the most in almost eight years after an explosion shut down the largest fuel pipeline in the U.S. In corporate news, BP Plc saw its profits slide by 49 percent in the third-quarter. While that number beat expectations of a larger drop, shares in the oil-major fell in London trading. Royal Dutch Shell Plc's third-quarter profit came in a full $1 billion ahead of the average of analyst estimates, with the company's February acquisition of BG Group Plc boosting production. Shares were 3.4 percent higher at 6:16 a.m. ET.

Carney staying at the BOE

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney says he will remain at the helm of the central bank until June of 2019, ending months of speculation about his future. With the British Prime Minister expected to trigger Article 50 to start the official process of the U.K. leaving the European Union by the end of March next year, and that process expected to take a maximum of two years, the governor's new departure date will see him in position throughout the negotiations. The pound rallied after the announcement and was trading at $1.2249 at 6:08 a.m. ET. U.K. manufacturers are continuing to benefit from weaker sterling, with IHS Markit's Purchasing Managers Index coming in at 54.3 for October, down from the previous month's 55.5, but still well above the 50 level that indicates an expansion. 

BOJ holds, China data beats

The Bank of Japan voted to keep its monetary policy unchanged while delaying the projected timing for reaching its 2 percent inflation target to beyond the end of Haruhiko Kuroda's term as governor. The yen was trading at 105 to the dollar at 6:20 a.m. ET, near a three-month low. In China, an official manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 51.2 in October, the highest level since July 2014, while non-manufacturing PMI rose to 54. Also in China, trading in credit default swaps began yesterday on the nation's interbank market as the country faces mounting bond failures.

Markets inch higher

Overnight, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.3 percent while Japan's Topix index closed the session broadly unchanged. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 was 0.2 percent higher at 6:17 a.m. ET with Standard Chartered Plc dropping 5.5 percent following disappointing earnings. S&P 500 futures advanced 0.2 percent.

One week to go

This day next week will be voting day the in long-anticipated U.S. presidential election. Last week's revelation that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is reopening its inquiry into Hillary Clinton's use of private e-mail has put the election back to the top of currency traders' list of worries, as polls that had shown the Democratic nominee with a commanding lead start to tighten. The two leading candidates have drawn up plans for a post-vote battle in case there are opportunities to challenge results in decisive states. Keep up with all the final week developments at Bloomberg Politics. 

What we've been reading 

This is what's caught our eye over the last 24 hours.

• Odd Lots Podcast: What mathematical models of herding cows can teach us about markets.
• How a smooth talker convinced bankers to invest $32 million, then vanished.
• A waterfight like no other may be brewing over Asia's rivers.
• History might well remember 2016 as the year that populism swept the developed world.
• Why electric cars excite the world's biggest mining company.
• Bitcoin isn't anonymous enough.
• Cashew prices go bananas.

To contact the author of this story: Lorcan Roche Kelly in Dublin at lrochekelly@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joe Weisenthal at jweisenthal@bloomberg.net.