Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Nikkei up 6.30 %, Shanghai Composite fell 1.60 %, Hang Seng gained 2.75 %, ASX 200 rose 1.35 %
- Commodities: Gold at $1219 (-1.60 %), Silver at $15.40 (-2.50 %), WTI Oil at $29.20 (-0.80 %), Brent Oil at $33.13 (-0.70 %)
- Rates: US 10 year yield at 1.75, UK 10 year yield at 1.42, German 10 year yield at 0.26
News & Data:
- China Trade Balance (Jan): USD 63.3 Bln (exp USD 60.60 Bln prev USD 60.09 Bln)
- China Exports USD (YoY) Jan: -11.2% (exp -1.8% prev -1.4%)
- China Imports USD (YoY) Jan: -18.8% (exp -3.6% prev -7.6%)
- Japan GDP SA (QoQ) Q4, P: -0.4% (exp -0.2% prev 0.3%)
- Japan GDP Annualised SA (QoQ) Q4, P: -1.4% (exp -0.8% prev rev 1.3%)
- Japan GDP Private Consumption (QoQ) Q4, P: -0.8% (exp -0.6% prev 0.4%) Japan GDP Business Spending (QoQ) Q4, P: 1.4% (exp -0.2% prev rev 0.7%)
- Japan Industrial Production (MoM) Dec, F: -1.7% (flash -1.4%)
- Japan Industrial Production (YoY) Dec, F: -1.9% (flash -1.6%)
- UK Rightmove House Prices (MoM) Feb: 2.9% (prev 0.5%)
- UK Rightmove House Prices (YoY) Feb: 7.3% (prev 6.5%)
- Australia New Motor Vehicle Sales (MoM) Jan: 0.5% (prev -0.5%)
- Australia New Motor Vehicle Sales (YoY) Jan: 5.1% (prev 2.2%)
- New Zealand PSI (Jan): 55.4 (prev rev 58.5)
- Singapore Retail Sales SA (MoM) Dec: -2.1% (exp -2.4% prev rev 1.2%)
- Singapore Retail Sales (YoY) Dec: 2.9% (exp 3.4% prev rev 4.6%)
- ECB’s Coeure: Market Turmoil Could Hold Back Euro Zone Inflation — RTRS
- Japanese PM Abe: Excessive FX Volatility Is Undesirable, Will Take Action As Required — RTRS
CFTC Positioning Data:
- EUR short 63K vs 87K short prior week
- GBP short 36K vs 45k short prior week
- JPY long 43K vs 37K long prior week
- CAD short 52K vs 52K short prior week
- CHF short 7K vs. 5K short prior week
- AUD short 6K vs 26K short prior week
- NZD short 9K vs 8k short prior week
Markets Update:
Chinese markets reopened after a week-long break and the Shanghai Composite fell immediately after the open. However, risk appetite improved generally and the other main stock indices in Asia rose overnight. The Nikkei rallied more than 6 %, which boosted the USD/JPY. The pair traded as high as 113.98 in Asia. Meanwhile, EUR/USD fell from 1.1250 to 1.1212, while GBP/USD consolidated in a 1.4490-1.4530 range. The commodity currencies were bid, with AUD/USD rising from 0.71 to 0.7165 and NZD/USD climbing from 0.6610 to 0.6660.
Upcoming Events:
- 10:00 GMT – Euro Zone Trade Balance
- 14:00 GMT – ECB President Draghi speaks
- 21:45 GMT – New Zealand Retail Sales
The Week Ahead:
Tuesday, February 16th
- 00:30 GMT – RBA Meeting Minutes
- 09:00 GMT – Italian Trade Balance
- 09:00 GMT – Norwegian GDP
- 09:30 GMT – UK CPI
- 10:00 GMT – German ZEW Economic Sentiment
- 10:00 GMT – Euro Zone ZEW Economic Sentiment
- 13:30 GMT – US NY Empire State Manufacturing Index
- 15:00 GMT – US NAHB Housing Market Index
Wednesday, February 17th
- 09:30 GMT – UK Claimant Count Change
- 09:30 GMT – UK Unemployment Rate
- 09:30 GMT – UK Average Earnings
- 13:30 GMT – US Building Permits
- 13:30 GMT – US PPI
- 13:30 GMT – US Housing Starts
- 14:15 GMT – US Industrial Production
- 14:15 GMT – US Manufacturing Production
- 19:00 GMT – FOMC Meeting Minutes
- 23:50 GMT – Japan Trade Balance
Thursday, February 18th
- 00:30 GMT – Australia Employment Change
- 00:30 GMT – Australia Unemployment Rate
- 01:30 GMT – Chinese CPI
- 01:30 GMT – Chinese PPI
- 07:45 GMT – French CPI
- 08:30 GMT – Swedish CPI
- 09:00 GMT – Euro Zone Current Account
- 12:30 GMT – ECB Meeting Minutes
- 13:30 GMT – US Initial Jobless Claims
- 13:30 GMT – US Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index
- 16:00 GMT – US Crude Oil Inventories
Friday, February 19th
- 07:00 GMT – German PPI
- 08:30 GMT – Swedish Unemployment Rate
- 09:30 GMT – UK Retail Sales
- 13:30 GMT – US CPI
- 13:30 GMT – US Core CPI
- 13:30 GMT – Canadian CPI
- 13:30 GMT – Canadian Retail Sales
- 20:30 GMT – CFTC Positioning Data
