Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Nikkei down 0.50 %, Shanghai Composite lost 0.90 %, Hang Seng declined 1.10 %, ASX 200 fell 0.30 %
- Commodities: Gold at $1219 (-0.35 %), Silver at $12.28 (+0.05 %), WTI Oil at $39.65 (-0.40 %), Brent Oil at $40.50 (+0.05 %)
- Rates: US 10 year yield at 1.89, UK 10 year yield at 1.45, German 10 year yield at 0.19
News & Data:
- New Zealand Trade Balance (Feb): NZD 339 Mln (exp NZD 90 Mln prev NZD 8 Mln)
- New Zealand Exports (Feb): NZD 4.25 Bln (exp NZD 4.01 Bln prev NZD 3.90 Bln)
- New Zealand Imports (Feb): NZD 3.91 Bln (exp NZD 3.90 Bln prev NZD 3.89 Bln)
- PBoC Fixes Yuan At 6.5150 (prev 6.4936)
- BoJ: Chances Of Core CPI Remaining Above 1% Has Diminished
- BoJ Gov Kuroda: Unlikely To Be More Dissent On Negative Rate At Next Meeting — BBG
- Chinese Premier Li: Many Countries See Exports Declining, Economies Slowing — BBG
- Li: China Requires Greater Openness To Develop
- Li: 2016 GDP Target Allows Flexibility
- Li: Will Adopt Resolute & Comprehensive Measures To Ensure Reasonable Growth — RTRS
- Dollar rise hits commodities as Fed talks of tightening – RTRS
- U.S. oil falls after big jump in stockpiles – RTRS
Markets Update:
The US Dollar rose against most other major currencies overnight, after hawkish comments from yet another Fed official. St. Louis Fed President Bullard stated yesterday that he expects at least two rate hikes this year and that the next one could arive as soon as April. USD/JPY rallied to a high of 112.90. Ahead of the Tokyo open, it fell back to 112.35, but found decent support there and eventually rallied back to 112.85.
GBP/USD remains under heavy pressure amid renewed Brexit worries and is now trading below 1.41. Support is seen at 1.4052, followed by 1.40. A break sub-1.40 would then pave the way for a test of the current yearly low at 1.3845. EUR/USD consolidated in the Asian session as it was caught in a 1.1165-85 range. Support is seen at 1.1160 and then 1.11 & 1.1050.
The commodity currencies have weakened amid broad USD strength. AUD/USD fell to a low of 0.7488 overnight and could test 0.7420 support soon. Price action in NZD/USD is looking bearish as well as it broke sub-0.67 and there is no significant support until 0.6575/80.
The main events today will be UK retail sales and US initial jobless claims.
Upcoming Events:
- 07:00 GMT – German GfK Consumer Climate
- 09:30 GMT – UK Retail Sales
- 12:30 GMT – US Core Durable Goods Orders
- 12:30 GMT – US Initial Jobless Claims
- 13:45 GMT – US Services PMI
- 23:30 GMT – Japan CPI
