- Bahrain is latest Middle Eastern country to experience violent unrest
- China’s FDI rose by 23.4% in January
- Former MPC member Blanchflower warns of potentially huge job losses
- US Treasury tells banks to monitor transactions which might be Egyptian state assets
- Nikkei +0.4%, Shanghai -0.3%, Kospi -1.2%
- Gold $1378/oz
The Asian market is closing out the day where it started with all of the majors returning to their starting points after some minor flurries.
The AUD/USD had spiked in late NY trade after a big flow was pushed through by a UK clearer. There was no such excitement in Asia and any small moves were triggered by headlines from the Middle East. Range: 1.0019/52
EUR/USD also went for an early session rally but was stopped in its tracks by heavy sell orders between 1.3610/25. Again it was headlines out of Bahrain which caused any volatility. Ranges: 1.3561/1.3608
Cable was quiet in a 30 pip range between 1.6085/1.6115 and EUR/GBP .8423/44
USD/JPY traded 83.53/69. There were reports out of NY that some very large orders were seen above 84.00 when the market got close overnight.
