Asia Summary and Highlights 26 Mar
Trump says Iran is negotiating and want a deal
Asia Session
Geopolitical tension remain a concern for market participants as we hear different words from Trump and his Iranian counterparts. The physical disruption of Strait of Hormuz seems to have eased a little as Iran allows certain vessels to pass through. Yet, both Brent and WTI is trading higher for the session. With risk sentiment broadly undecided and precious metals gaining marginally, AUD/USD is trading 0.08% higher at 0.6952. NZD/USD is unchanged while USD/CAD rises 0.07%.
Else, the FX market is rather quiet with the lack of geopolitical impetus. USD is trading slightly lower against major. EUR/USD is up 0.05%, GBP/USD is down 0.03% and USD/JPY is down 0.02%.
European and North American sessions
Early optimism on hopes to an end to the war in the Middle East faded in North America, with Iran rejecting US peace proposals and later the US subsequently threatening to strike Iran again. Oil came off early lows and the USD advanced, though UST yields remained lower and equities higher. USD/JPY pushed above 159 to touch 159.50 while EUR/USD fell below 1.16 to near 1.1560. USD/CAD moved above 1.38 and AUD/USD slipped to .6950.
US data showed a narrower than expected Q4 current account deficit of $190.7bn from $239.1bn in Q3 supported by a bounce in investment income. February saw strong gains in import and export prices, by 1.3% and 1.5% respectively. Earlier UK CPI was as expected at 3.0% yr/yr in February, unchanged from January. EUR/GBP saw marginal losses but GBP/USD gains were erased and more as the USD picked up. EUR/CHF kept to a tight range.