- Japanese industrial production was down 10% in January while retail sales rose by 0.6%.
- UK consumer confidence at -35 against -39 expectation.
- Citigroup and US have reached agreement to convert the govt stake into common stock
End of month flows saw some large JPY buying across the board with USD/JPY falling from a morning high at 98.60 to a low at 97.33. Stop loss selling below 98.00 and again below 97.60 added to the bearish momentum. Further flows are expected at the London fix with some talk of large buying interest in the AUD. The AUD is further complicated by large option-related plays by a large Asian quasi-central bank.
Equity markets across the region were fairly flat while gold fell again in Asia, from $945 to $938/oz.
EUR/USD traded in a 1.2689/1.2745 range, USD/JPY 97.33/98.60, cable 1.4253/1.4328, Swissy 1.1638/1.1678, AUD/USD triggered model fund stops below .6450 trading .6437/82 and EUR/JPY saw a 123.69/125.57 range (with the technical outlook calling for a new medium term range 120/135).
