This is another pair which has me flummoxed at the moment. My tendency is to be short, despite the lowly level, but I think I’m in a minority as most other traders I speak with and whose opinion I value, seem quite bullish USD/JPY. In the short term, sales of the USD by Japanese corporations as they send profits home before the end of the financial year, continue to cap any rises and the offers are fairly heavy between 91.10/20 I’m told. Professional traders seem happy to buy dips as they anticipate an increased level of government intervention in coming months.

AUD/NZD is back below 1.29 and NZD/USD is at .7125 after a few sessions of fairly furious NZD short covering. We saw from the speculative positioning data earlier in the week that the market was already quite short the Kiwi and obviously not all that comfortable with the position, judging by the short-covering rush. Technical resistance in the NZD/USD is quite firm between .7150/75 and support in the AUD/NZD is at 1.2850 (38.2% 1.2410/1.3120)

It looks as if the AUD may well have one of its bullish spurts today with the pair back above .9200 and little in the way of resistance until .9325, a level at which the RBA has intervened on two occasions. Technical support is now firming at .9050 and with such an expensive carry in play, shorts are being consistently squeezed out of the market. Buy-big-dips is still the mantra here.

I hope the lively trade from overnight can wash over into Asia today. Cable was the big mover, enjoying a 300 pip range, and my initial target at 1.5285 has almost been met. EUR/USD has also been dragged higher but is likely to meet Sovereign selling between 1.3825/50. The AUD/USD keeps grinding its way higher and anyone trying to short this pair must be feeling rather disillusioned. USD/JPY continues to trade in tight ranges and will probably continue to do so for the rest of the month.

Good luck today (agus La Fheile Phadraig, which means happy St Patricks day to the non-Gaelic speakers!)

• China again says level of CNY not to blame for trade surplus
• RBA minutes from last meeting suggest further rate rises in store
• Regional stockmarkets fall by around 0.25%
• Japanese corporates continue with JPY repatriation ahead of end-of-financial-year
• European finance ministers deliver no new plan, but say are ready when needed

USD/JPY has drifted lower throughout the session under the weight of further corporate repatriations. The pair opened at 90.45, triggered stops below 90.15 and has traded a 89.99/90.49 range.

The AUD/USD slipped immediately after the RBA minutes but once again has shown the ability to bounce back quickly. The spectre of further rate rises will have more dip-buyers out in force. Range: .9120/53

EUR/USD has again been under-inspiring in a 1.3660/98 range. The lack of anything concrete from the EU finance minister meeting did not affect the market here in Asia. Heavy stops said to be building below 1.3530 but that’s a long way away based on today’s price action.

GBP has again been the weakest of the majors with speculation that some of the big M&A stories like the Prudential/AIG deal are to blame. Cable range, 1.5042/71, EUR/GBP .9070/.9100

Markets: Nikkei -0.2%, HK -0.3%, Kospi flat. Gold slightly higher at $1110/oz.

With most of the major pairings hardly moving in 30 pip ranges it is unusual to see EUR/GBP moving around but that is what it has done in Asia today. It opened at .9090, traded down to .9070 before moving higher again to .9100 at present. A quick look at the daily charts shows a fairly bullish set-up which is consolidating inside a .9050/.9150 range. More range trading looks likely though it is hard to argue against the recent up-trend. More information needed.

No sooner said than done. Bids filled at 90.15 and stops triggered just below. USD/JPY and the JPY crosses have been  under pressure during the Asian trading session for the last week or so and then they tend to rebound when London and NY step in.

• USD/JPY: solid corporate selling between 91.10/20; decent sized bids around 90.15, stops just below this level
• GBP/USD: stops both side of the market, above 1.5090 and below 1.5010. Talk of Sovereign bids 1.4950/60 with more stops below 1.4935/40.
• EUR/USD: heavy stops below 1.3530, Sovereign offers 1.3825/50. Mixed bag in between
• AUD/USD: Still corporate buying interest around .9085/95 with heavy stops below .9050. Mixture of stops and sell orders above .9200.

One of these days we’re going to report that the UK press have something positive to write about the pound. Today is not the day. This article in the UK Telegraph will have dealers in early Europe testing out their ’sell’ button fairly early in the session.

The Nikkei is +0.25%, HK +0.45% and the Kospi is +0.1% on another uninspiring day for the Asian financial markets. The FX markets are in sideways mode and I really cannot see any profit opportunities emerging in the next few hours until Europe joins the fray.

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