Asia Summary and Highlights 20 Mar
Little change in the broader risk atmosphere
Asia Session
USD is bouncing on Friday's Asia session after Thursday's slump. Geopolitical tension persists but the lack of escalation seems to be keeping a lid on oil, at least for now, both Brent and WTI is lower. USD/JPY recaptured partial losses on this Japanese holiday. The pair is last seen trading 0.45% higher at 159.39.
There is little change in the broader risk atmosphere as geopolitical headlines took a pause, not drones and missiles flying. U.S. major equity indexes are performing individually but not far away from the start as expected, for market participants will prefer skipping the weekend risk by not placing fresh bets. AUD/USD is trading 0.06% lower at 0.7083. NZD/USD is trading 0.09% while USD/CAD slips 0.06%. Else, EUR/USD is down 0.27% and GBP/USD is down 0.20%.
North American session
EUR/USD and GBP/USD both picked up, with USD slippage extending in late trade after Israeli PM Netanyahu stated Iran no longer had the capacity to enrich uranium or manufacture missiles, raising hopes for an end to the war. EUR/USD saw highs above 1.16 from after a pre-ECB dip below 1.1450 while GBP/USD saw highs above 1.3450, up over two big figures from pre-BoE lows. USD/JPY fell over two big figures to near 157.50. EUR/JPY was also lower, with the slippage coming before the ECB decision.
The first round of US data was stronger, initial claims falling to 205k in the March payroll survey week rom, 213k and February’s Philly Fed manufacturing index rising to 18.1 from 16.3. However this was followed by a sharp 17.6% fall in January new home sales. Equities were under pressure and the UST curve saw a significant flattening, though these moves moderated in late trade as Middle East fears eased somewhat. USD/CAD was relatively stable, while a late AUD/USD bounce failed to hold above .71.