Market Roundup
- Russian Central Bank says to suspend 12-month Forex repo auctions from April 1
- Turkish Central Bank says injects 1 billion lira in one-week repo, bids 1.96 billion lira
- Malaysia to sell 2.5 bln rgt government bond - Central Bank
- China Central Bank injects 35 billion yuan through 7 day reverse repos
- China's Premier Li: To closely monitor for corruption in financial sector
- China's Premier Li: To reform financial supervision in financial sector Russian finance ministry plans to issue in Q2 new inflation-linked of z bond
- Russian Dep FinMin: Aim of Eurobond issue is to plant a flag, doesn't have a fiscal function
- Russian Dep Finance minister says on Eurobond issue: we have no specific time frame so that no one can hold us by the throat
Economic Data Ahead
- (0830 ET/1230 GMT) The U.S. Department of Commerce is expected to report that personal income rose 0.1 percent in February after posting 0.5 percent increase in January.
- (0830 ET/1230 GMT) The U.S. Commerce Department is likely to report that a key inflation measure tracked by the Fed increased 0.2 percent after advancing 0.3 percent in January.
- (0830 ET/1230 GMT) The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis will release personal consumption expenditure for the month of February. The index stood at 0.1 percent in the prior month.
- (0830 ET/1230 GMT) The U.S. Commerce Department is likely to report that consumer spending edged up 0.1 percent in February after rising 0.5 percent in the previous month.
- (0830 ET/1230 GMT) The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Census Bureau will release Goods Trade Balance figures for the month of February. The data showed a $62 billion trade deficit in the month of January.
- (0830 ET/1230 GMT) The National Association of Realtors are expected to report that Pending Home Sales rose to 1.0 percent in the month of February, after declining to -2.5 percent in January.
- (1000 ET/ 1400 GMT) The statistics agency of Mexico releases trade balance data for February. The economy posted a $1.833 billion trade deficit in January when adjusted for seasonal swings.
- (1930 ET/2330 GMT) Japan's Statistics Bureau will release Unemployment Rate for the month of February and it is expected to remain unchanged at 3.2 percent.
- (1950 ET/2350 GMT) Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry releases Retail Trade data for February. The index posted a declined of -1.1 percent in January.
- N/A Central Bank of Chile publishes its quarterly report, or IPOM, with recent growth guidance, current account estimates, and monetary policy guidelines.
Key Events
No major events scheduled
FX Beat
USD: The dollar nudged up against the yen on Monday, after rebounding last week following a series of comments from Fed officials who supported the case for more interest rate hikes than markets had anticipated. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar index touched a high of 96.399, its highest level since March 16 and last stood at 96.23.
EUR/USD: The euro was steady at 1.1160 following a loss of 0.9 percent last week. The pair has slightly recovered after making a low of 1.11440. Intra day trend is slightly bullish as long as support 1.1100 holds. On the lower side any break below 1.1150 will drag it down till 1.1100/1.1050. Any break above 1.1180 will confirm minor bullishness for the intraday, a jump till 1.123/1.1260 is possible. The short term bearish invalidation is only above 1.13500.
USD/JPY: The yen declined 0.4 percent to 113.48 against its U.S. counterpart. The dollar had gained 1.4 percent versus the yen last week, pulling away from a 17-month low of 110.67 plumbed mid-month. The pair has broken major resistance 113.20 and jumped till 113.68. The short term trend is slightly bullish as long as support 112 holds. On the lower side major support is around 112 and break below targets 111.35/110.65. The minor support is around 112.60. The major resistance is around 114.25 and break above targets 115/115.80.
GBP/USD: Sterling trades 0.25 percent higher at 1.4169, hovering towards session's high of 1.4179. It has broken minor resistance 1.4100 and jumped till 1.4187. The short term trend is slightly weak as long as resistance 1.4220 holds. Any break above 1.4220 will take the pair till 1.4250/1.4320/1.4380. The short term bearish invalidation is only if it closes above 1.4400. On the lower side any break below 1.4050 will drag it down till 1.4000/1.3970 level.
USD/CHF: The Swiss franc edged down against its U.S, counterpart. The pair has slightly retreated after making a high of 0.97830 and trades 0.11 percent up at 0.97702. The short term trend is slightly weak as long as resistance 0.9800 holds. The major support is around 0.9720 and any break below will drag the pair down till 0.9680/0.9650 level. On the higher side minor resistance is around 0.9800 and any break above targets 0.9855/0.9900.
AUD/USD: The Australian dollar edged up 0.40 percent to 0.7530, having touched sessions high of 0.7539. The Aussie is back on track after it lost 1.4 percent last week. It had pulled away from an 8-month high of 0.7681 set in mid-March. The pair has recovered after making a low of 0.7477. The short term trend is slightly weak as long as resistance 0.7600 holds.
On the higher side major resistance is around 0.7600 and break above targets 0.7725/0.7750. The minor resistance is around 0.7550. The major support is around 0.7445 and break below will drag the pair till 0.7400/0.73550.
NZD/USD: The New Zealand dollar trades 0.32 percent up at 0.6701, hovering towards session's high of 0.6705. The kiwi has reversed its previous session losses, having declined from a peak of 0.6874 touched on 18 March. Immediate resistance is located at 0.6717 (20-DMA) on the upside, while support is seen at 0.6668 (Session's Low).
Equities Recap
European Markets Closed For Easter Holiday. Asian shares were mostly lower after Chinese industrial profits rebounded and U.S. economic growth was stronger than expected.
Tokyo's Nikkei edged up 0.77 pct at 17,134.37, while Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.7 pct at 2,957.82 points, with China's CSI300 index down 0.9 pct at 3,169.73 points.
Commodities Recap
Oil prices were steady as optimism holds that a production freeze among major producers may be implemented. Brent crude futures were up at $40.50 per barrel at 1049 GMT. Last week, the contract dropped nearly 2 percent, in its first decline in 5 weeks. U.S. crude's front-month contract was up 34 cents at $39.80 a barrel.
Gold hit its lowest in a month, as the dollar firmed ahead of new U.S. economic data and speeches by Federal Reserve officials that may signal more interest rate increases than anticipated. Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,216.57 an ounce by 1051 GMT, after touching a session low of $1,208.20 its lowest since Feb. 23.
Treasuries Recap
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield stood at 1.904 percent up by 0.011 bps.
Japanese government bonds edged down, taking their cue from firmer stocks ahead of the end of Japan's fiscal year. The benchmark 10-year JGB yield edged up 1 basis point to minus 0.090 percent, inching away from a record low of minus 0.135 percent hit earlier this month. In the superlong zone, the 20-year JGB yield added 1.5 basis points to 0.405 percent, while the 30-year yield rose half a basis point to 0.510 percent. June 10-year JGB futures fell 0.02 point to end at 151.87.
