U.K. Q3 GDP was confirmed at -0.5% q/q and 0.3% y/y. The breakdown showed household consumption down 0.2% q/q, the largest quarterly fall since Q1 1995 and likely to deteriorate further over the coming quarters. Investment contracted by 2.4% q/q while public spending rose by 1.0% q/q, highlighting the government's efforts to underpin the economy. Despite the Sterling depreciation, net exports continue to be a drag on growth, with exports down 0.3% q/q while imports rose 0.1%. Hence, the re-balancing of the U.K. economy appears to be slow. Overall, data largely in line with expectations and highlighting the risk for a prolonged recession. Meanwhile, Pound was boosted by a large Asian buy order, with a central bank mooted on the Cable move from 1.5350 through 1.5400. The Asian account paid a number of London names, which is indicative of thin trading conditions. Cable longs lightened up exposure in Asia, with intra-day accounts and Japanese retail investors offloading GBP against the dollar and the yen, with equity markets coming back under pressure. The market was heavily long after the late N.Y. move up to 1.5533, which marked a move of 3.7% on the session. Sterling fundamentals remain weak, but the technical picture has swung in favor of the topside after spot held above the recent 1.4555 trend low and the subsequent rebound through 1.5250 yesterday. So far, the market is satisfied that U.K. policy makers are doing everything within their power to help the U.K. economy. However, there remained concerns over U.K. government debt, with today's Telegraph indicating that the cost of insuring against a default on gilts surged to 100 bps at one stage yesterday. The DMO said that the government has never defaulted since the origins of national debt in 1694.