Trading in Asia overnight was confined to relatively narrow ranges with the levels this morning bearing a marked resemblance to those seen around the North American close. The Reserve Bank of Australia cut rates by a full percentage point to 4.25%, slightly more aggressive than the general forecast of 75bps. RBA Governor Glenn Stevens said that monetary policy is now “expansionary” to help restore consumer and business confidence. The feeling in the market is that the RBA is done with aggressive easing for the time being, and will now wait to see how the recent major easing in monetary policy, government spending measures and the fall in the AUD combine to support the economy. Elsewhere, Australian retail sales (seasonally adjusted) for October came in much stronger than expected, showing a 0.7% month on month rise against forecasts of a 0.2% decline. The Q-3 current account balance also showed a better than expected read, the A$9.8 bln deficit comparing favourably to the median forecast of a A$11.1 bln shortfall.