- France in contact with UK, US on release of strategic oil stocks to push fuel prices down. Release “is a matter of weeks. not days” – Le Monde Daily citing Presidential sources
- EU aide: Sees firewall ceiling 700-940 bln euros. Sees “absolutely no need” for ESM program for Spain
- BOJ’s Miyao: Japan economy moving roughly in line with BOJ’s forecast
- Euro zone February M3 annual growth 2.8%, stronger than Reuter’s median forecast of 2.3%
- Italy March business confidence rises to 92.1, up from 91.7 in February and better than Reuter’s median forecast of 91.5
- UK Q4 GDP (final) -0.3% q/q. +0.5% y/y, down from previous -0.2%, +0.7% respectively
- A big firewall: Calming or scary? – WSJ
We’re going nowhere fast, that’s for sure.
EUR/USD at 1.3340 from 1.3330 when I sat down. Talk of buy orders clustered 1.3300/10, sell stops below. Sell orders seen lined up from 1.3370 to 1.3400 barrier option interest.
USD/JPY up marginally at 83.00 from early 82.85, recovering from a nasty early swoon which saw us sell-off to session low 82.61 (EBS) before recovery. Major Swiss bank notable seller during the early downdraft.
US treasury yields have firmed this morning, especially in the longer end, and this has helped provide support for the pairing. The 30 year yield is presently up at 3.3196 from the 3.3034 I jotted down first thing.
Cable down at 1.5925 from early 1.5955, having been as low as 1.5901 so far. The downward revision of UK Q4 GDP (see above) hasn’t helped matters. More sell stops seen through 1.5900. EUR/GBP up at 8375 from early .8350, major Swiss bank notable buyer of the cross this morning.
