- BOJ buying 500 bln JGBs, 1000 bln short-term securities in expanded programme
- Japanese FinMin Noda: Welcomes BOJ’s appropriate and prompt action
- BOJ Shirakawa: To make appropriate decision in April meeting
- S&P: Earthquake has significant impact on Japan, but no immediate effect on Aa- rating
- Fuel rods are entirely exposed at Fukushima Daiichi NO 2 reactor – JIJI
- Eurogroups’ Juncker:Financial markets should have understood that euro zone is moving in right direction
- German FinMin Schaeuble: There is still a lot to do on euro zone debt crisis, but we have made good progress. Confidence in the euro will be cemented ahead of the March 24 summit
- Spanish/German 10 year govt bond yield spread below 200 bps, first time since mid-February
- Greek 5 year credit default swaps fall to 940 bps, down 105 bps on day
- Portuguese FinMin: We intend to keep going to the market to fund ourselves (we don’t want no stinkin bailout)
- ECB’s Nowotny: Economic uncertainty has risen, “strong vigilance” message still relevant
- Euro zone January industrial output +0.3% m/m, +6.6% y/y vs median forecasts +0.3%, +6.4% respectively
- Turkey’s PM: Proposed to Gaddafi he appoint a president with popular support, expects positive steps from him
- About 1,000 Saudi soldiers have entered Bahrain following latest unrest – Saudi official source
- Total German triumph as EU minnows subjugated – Latest from AEP at The Telgraph
Given all the developments around the globe, things seem to me remarkably calm at present. Certainly this morning’s European session has seen little net change in the levels of the major spots and crosses.
EUR/USD sits at 1.3945, effectively unchanged from where it opened in Europe. Early dip saw BIS buy below 1.3910 and that was the downside secured. Then as periphery/German govt bond yield spreads narrowed further, so EUR/USD recovered.
So far sell orders just ahead of psychological 1.4000 level are capping rally attempts.
USD/JPY down marginally at 81.85 from early 82.10. Asian sovereign buy interest around 81.80 has lent some tenuous support. Hard to rule out further repatriation/insurance-related flows supporting the yen, but market definitely wary of possible offiical intervention on any move through 80.00. Obviously addtional BOJ QE has lent some support to USD/JPY.
Cable up marginally at 1.6095 from early 1.6065. Eastern European buying was noted this morning. Talk of sell stops gathering down in 1.6015/20 area. Sell orders meanwhile seen clustered up at 1.6120/30 and more up at 1.6190/00.
