Berenberg analyst Andrew Wishart said in a note investors expect the UK government to continue lowering the public debt-to-GDP ratio in Wednesday’s budget. The narrow 2yr-10yr gilt yield spread reflects market pricing for fiscal prudence. Wishart warned that if Chancellor John Healey announces government borrowing above market expectations, UK government bond yields could rise sharply.

Shanghai Gold Exchange Gold T+D fell 1.04% in early trade on Monday, Oct. 26, to 856.0 yuan/gram; Shanghai Gold Exchange Silver T+D fell 0.58% to 13,014.0 yuan/kg.

KCNA reported on Oct. 26 that North Korea’s permanent UN representative sent a letter to the UN Security Council chair on Oct. 25 saying last month’s landmine explosion in the inter‑Korean Demilitarized Zone was a staged act by South Korea to deflect responsibility for rising tensions. Pyongyang said its ongoing fortification of the southern border is a defensive measure to protect territory from external aggression and accused Seoul of trying to smear the project as “military aggression” to delay and block it. The letter said South Korean provocations breach the UN Charter and asserted North Korea’s right to self‑defense under the Charter if Seoul infringes its sovereignty or directly threatens North Korean personnel.