• Japan: 30 and 20 year JGBs hit 2 1/2 and 10 yr lows respectively at 1.715% and 1.505% respectively
  • China leads asian bourses down with the Chian CSI300 closing down 4.6% pushing lows of the last 28 months
  • Moody’s warns of Australian States credit quality remaining under pressure
  • BOJ’s Iwata, Nakao and Abe repeated the rhetoric that spurred JGB yields to the lows with expectations of purchases
  • Iwata’s main message was the necessity to maintain monetary policies as planned to avoid reversals in recent moves (currency and yields one assumes); closing output gap to maintain employment and increase capex and increase wages
  • Spanish february Unemployment rose by 1.2%, higher than expectation at 59,444
  • Hong Kong Annual Retail Sales above expectation – up 10.5% by value, and 10.4% by volume
  • Eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence for march -10.6 vs expectation -5.2
  • UK Construction PMI 46.8 against expected 49.0, lowest print since October 2009
  • UK lending down by £1.5bn
  • European Feb PPI 0.6% m/m and 1.1% y/y

A quiet session with the exception of short-lived sell-offs in in the euro and £ following the poor and unexpected Sentix and UK Construction PMI prints.

EURUSD has maintained a fairly narrow range in spite of the only news of note; a 50 pip range with a low of 1.2982 sums it up.

Euro cross pairs had similar small ranges with a slightly more interesting extension in EURJPY to a topside push to approach 122.00 on the back of a steadily bid USDJPY which also lacked excitement of any kind.

The UK release did a little more damage as the PMI came out as the worst print in 2 1/2 years and added further grief to the recently punished GBP. A swift 50 pip drop from 1.5055 to just press the 1.4999/00 was soon rebuffed and a healthy bounce to be almost back to where we started the morning session at 1.5042.

The aussie dollar had been the main feature in asia and continue to look to the downside test of 1.0100 but barrier protection had buyers ahead in the teens and the AUDUSD also sits back at 1.0140.

Risk-asset players are short and this seems to be providing enough support and stopping further slides – for the moment !