Forexlive European FX news wrap: BOE in focus. Yen demand notable again.

Forex and cryptocurrency news from the European morning trading 21 Mar 2018News:Here's what the focus of the BOE meeting today will be onMUFG says that there is an 'outside chance' the BOE will raise rates todayYen demand notable again and forcing core pairs lowerFX option expiries for the 14.00 GMT cut - 22 March 2018Heads up on a possible delay in US jobless claims due at 1230 GMTEUR/USD pares gains, trades down to session lowsBitcoin trades near the lows after Japan's FSA plans to issue a warning to BinanceEU's Katainen says there are prospects for good talks with US on tradeGermany's Altmaier says there is a chance to prevent US tariffs from coming into effectEU's Dombrovskis says that EU is to take 'proportionate' approach to equivalenceGerman Ifo economist does not expect new growth records for GermanyUSD/CAD continues to trade lower after break of support levelsECB says indicators point to strong growth momentumScholz says Germany needs a balanced budgetBOJ's Wakatabe says fiscal policy is up to the governmentEuropean equities open lower to start the dayRiksbank's Floden says they can probably raise rates before ECBMore from Floden: Riksbank has no ambition to weaken SEKThe signs are not looking good for equities againPBOC raises interest rates on SLF by 5 bps - ReutersRBNZ's Spencer says forecasts still assume some NZD depreciationDollar slips further on the day as European traders enter the frayTrading ideas for the European session 22 MarchNomura says incoming RBNZ governor has complete flexibilityUSD/HKD inches closer to the trading band topSNB annual report: CHF 48.2 bn spent on currency interventionsNikkei 225 closes higher by 0.99% at 21,591.99More reaction to the Australian labour market report earlierChina says that it resolutely opposes US unilateralism and protectionismMajor Swiss banks see the SNB raising rates by early 2019BOJ cannot be too happy about recent economic dataANZ says trade frictions are to limit upside in Asian currencies post-FOMCAnalysts view that PBOC will continue to tighten as Fed hikes ratesAussie fails to join in on the fun against the dollarForexLive Asia FX news: USD extends its losses in Asia a littleData:UK February retail sales mm 0.8% vs 0.4% expGermany IFO March business climate 114.7 vs 114.6 expEurozone January current account balance €37.6 bn vs €29.9 bn priorEurozone March flash manufacturing PMI 56.6 vs 58.1 expectedGermany March flash manufacturing PMI 58.4 vs 59.8 expectedFrance Markit March mftg PMI flash 53.6 vs 55.5 expFrance March business confidence 109 vs 109 expectedJapan February supermarket sales y/y +1.3% vs +0.6% priorJapan February nationwide department store sales y/y -0.9% vs -1.2% priorJapan January all industry activity index m/m -1.8% vs -1.8% expectedA session that's had GBP traders on hot coals as the clock counts down to the BOE at 12.00 GMT. Risk-off sentiment returning on global trade war concerns and ongoing general fragility. Yen demand prevailing. Bitcoin in retreat again.USDJPY has been down to test 105.50 again (twice) after failing at 106.00 and cross-pair yen demand has sent core pairs lower with GBPUSD falling to 1.4135 after post-UK data highs of 1.4181. EURUSD has fallen to 1..2308 from 1.2380, AUDUSD down to 0.7728 from 0.7760 and USDCAD up to test 1.2900 as CADJPY sellers dominated.USDCHF has been capped between 0.9480-00 as risk-off CHF demand prevails and EURCHF sellers in attack mode down to 1.1660Bitcoin has come under attack of its own and fallen to $8680 from $9050Oil has rallied, while gold has rallied only to retreat but equities have fallen adding to the risk-off sentiment.Here's what's coming up with the BOE main focus from 12.00 GMT