- Nikkei rises by 3%
- Gold +$5 to $1431/oz, Oil $103.0/bbl
- FinMin Noda: Will take action if needed, but no sign of any today
- Radiation worries in Japan start to grow again as steam and haze rise from stricken plant
- UN air strikes on Libya winding down
It’s been a very slow day in Asia with the majors trading inside 30 pip ranges. Japanese financial markets returned after a long weekend, with the Nikkei putting on an additional 3%.
USD/JPY opened at 81.10, rose to 81.30 just before the Tokyo open as dealers bet on more BOJ action. These positions were then cut in early afternoon trade as it became obvious that the BOJ were not going to intervene. Ranges: 80.88/81.30, EUR/JPY 115.03/52
EUR/USD closed in NY at 1.4220 and has spent the majority of the session near that same level. Range: 1.4201/31
AUD/USD tried to rally in early trade as traders again bet on a risk-on day and possible intervention. This momentum also dissipated quite quickly when the pair couldn’t best the overnight highs. Ranges: 1.0035/67
Cable has been similarly quiet ahead of the CPI data in a few hours time. Ranges: 1.6290/1.6316, EUR/GBP .8709/25
