• ECB bought European periphery bonds. Confirmation they bought Greek and Portuguese bonds. And most probably bought Irish as well
  • Portuguese Treasury Secretary: Portuguese bond yields high, require urgent European measures
  • Moody’s downgrades the rating of six Greek banks. First the country, then the banks
  • Portugal sold 1 bln euros of 2013 bonds. Indicative offer 750 mln- 1.0 bln
  • Greek December unemployment at 14.8%, up sharply from 13.9% in November
  • Swiss February CPI +0.4% m/m, +0.5% y/y, slightly above median forecasts +0.3%, +0.4% respectively
  • UK January trade -£7.057 bln, better than median forecast of -£8.5 bln
  • OPEC sees no need now to hold emergency meeting, oil supplies sufficient – Delegate
  • BOJ Dep Gov Yamaguchi: Sticking to zero rate policy until price stability is foreseen
  • French debt chief Mills: Expects govt debt levels will be lower than expected in 2010

Greenback has seen across the board weakness this morning.

EUR/USD up at 1.3925 from early 1.3880 having been as high as 1.3942. Middle East bought early and we peeked over 1.3900. Russia and real money notable sellers above 1.3900 and we came lower again. We then proceeded to do not much of anything for a good period, with the market floundering for any real direction.

That all changed as reports came in that ECB had been in buying euro zone periphery bonds. They certainly bought Portuguese and Greek bonds and most probably Irish. That got us back over 1.3900 and as high as 1.3942. Talk of sell orders at 1.3945/55 and central bank seller around 1.3935 have helped cap for time being.

USD/CHF down at .9285 from early .9365. Swissy has seen some across the board strength, EUR/CHF down at 1.2925 from early 1.3000. Stronger than expected Swiss CPI data will have lent some support. And then I guess there’s always the Middle East situation, which shows no real signs of improvement. Infact things seem to be going from bad to worse.

USD/JPY down marginally at 82.75 from early 82.90. Well documented sell orders up at 82.90/00 so far capping the pairing. Talk of large car company on the offer up at 83.00. Buy orders 82.50/60, light stops below.

AUD/USD up at 1.0115 from early 1.0070. Much talk of AUD/USD demand related to dividend payment due this Friday. Buy orders 1.0050 and more at 1.0000/10. Stops through .9970 and bigger through 9930. Notable sell orders remain up at 1.0200

Cable up at 1.6215 from early 1.6150 having been as high as 1.6243. Better than expected UK trade data (see above) lent support.