- Draft communique of G20 meeting
- Mark-to-market ruling due tonight
- Australia Feb trade balance +2.1bln vs +700mln expectation
- Russia and US improving relations as US and China deepen dialogue
- Asian stocks surge across the region
With little of substance emanating from the G20 meeting, the FX market took it’s lead from a surging equity market. Wall Street rallied overnight despite being down 1% in early trade and most of the main Asian bourses have rallied close to 4%. This has seen the JPY crosses rise with the AUD being the stand-out performer and the GBP not far behind. These are the two currencies worst hit during the risk aversion phase.
The big event risks later tonight are the G20 meeting and the ECB meeting. The latter is expected to cut its benchmark rate to 1% but most interest will focus on whether it will follow the US, UK and Japan into quantitative easing.
Gold is steady around $924/oz and Brent crude is also steady at $49/bbl. The Nikkei gained 4.25%, Hang SEng 5.5%, Kospi 3.5% and Shanghai 1.25%.
Ranges: EUR/USD 1.3223/93; USD/JPY 98.40/88; Cable 1.4450/1.4510; USD/CHF 1.1424/74; AUD/USD .6976/.7038; EUR/JPY 130.24/131.22.
