Market Roundup
- Greece's Finance Minister Varoufakis says discussion of debt restructuring will begin immediately.
- German finance minister Schaeuble tells radio Euro Zone decision to approve Greek reform list was "not easy".
- China central bank appoints Fan Yifei as new deputy governor.
- BOJ Gov Kuroda: Strongly hope government proceeds with efforts to restore Japan's fiscal health.
- Japan Econmin Amari: Primary budget surplus goal will be included in fiscal discipline plan due this June.
- Italy Jan Flash Trade Balance Non-EU decrease to -0.234 bln eur vs previous 5.25 bln eur.
- France Feb Consumer Confidence increases to 92 (consensus 91) vs previous 90.
- UK Net Mortgage Lending +0.506 bln stg in Jan vs +0.427 bln stg in Dec.
- UBS Consumption Indicator for Switzerland 1.24 in Jan after 1.42 in previous month.
Economic Data Ahead
- (0700 ET/1200 GMT) US MBA Mortgage Application Indices
- (1000 ET/1500 GMT) US New House Sales Jan consensus 470k SAAR, previous 481k
- (1030 ET/1530 GMT) US EIA Petroleum Statistics Feb 20 week
Key Events Ahead
- (0945 ET/1445 GMT) FedTrade ops 30yr F.Mae/Fr.Mac max $1.8bln
- (1000 ET/1500 GMT) Fed Chair Yellen testifies before HFSC
FX Recap
EUR/USD opened with a rise to 1.1389. However, the pair consequently eased towards 1.1345-50 range after Greek FinMin Varoufakis stated the discussion of debt restructuring will begin immediately and is likely to trade within the said levels. It currently trades at 1.1343 levels. Option expiries at 1.1250 (5.4B), 1.1300 (2.1B), 1.1355 (1.1B), 1.1400 (1.6B)
USD/JPY continues its downward trend in the European session and trades around 118.78 levels. It is underpinned by persistent weakness in the US dollar after Yellen's testimony on Tuesday. On the topside, immediate resistance is seen at 118.92 (5-DMA) levels and above which gains could be extended to 119.19 (Feb 19 High) levels. To the flipside, immediate support is seen at 118.53 (50-DMA) levels, and then at 118.23 (100-DMA) levels. Option expiries at 118.00 (577M), 119.00 (320M), 119.40 (556M), 120.00 (1.1B)
AUD/USD has broken major resistance 0.7875 (Feb 6th high) after the release of better than expected China's HSBC PMI data and a jump till 0.8025 cannot be ruled out. On the downside minor support is 0.7870 (Resistance turned into support) and any break below will target 0.7845/0.7795 (200 day HMA). The pair's minor resistance is around 0.7920 and any break above will target 0.7950/0.8025. Option expiries at 0.7800 (690M), 0.7850 (449M), 0.7950 (435M), 0.7980 (1.6B)
USD/CHF is trying to break above 0.9500 levels and trades around 0.9493 levels. The Swiss UBS Consumption indicator, which fell to 1.24 from the previous reading of 1.42, did not have any significant impact on the pair. On the topside, immediate resistance is located at 0.9518 levels. On the flip side, support is seen at 0.9458 and 0.94 (hourly 200-MA) levels.
