Australian Business Conditions Hold Steady as Easing Cost Pressures Face New Oil Price Risks 
Oil Prices Surge as U.S.-Iran Conflict Escalates and Strait of Hormuz Risks Grow 
Australia Consumer Sentiment Rises in July as Fuel Price Relief Lifts Confidence 
IEA Warns China Rare Earth Export Curbs Could Threaten $6.5 Trillion in Global Production 
Asian Currencies Hold Steady as Middle East Tensions Offset Weaker US Dollar 
Asian Stocks Rally as Cooling U.S. Inflation Boosts Fed Rate Cut Hopes 
Asian Currencies Stay Rangebound as Middle East Tensions, Weak China GDP Weigh on Sentiment 
UBS Boosts China Tech Bets, Adds Kuaishou and Meituan to Focus List 
Japanese Yen Holds Steady as Intervention Hopes Grow Ahead of U.S. CPI Data 
Oil Prices Rise as U.S. Strikes on Iran Raise Strait of Hormuz Supply Fears 
Japanese government bonds traded tad lower Monday, following better-than-expected trade balance data for the month of January, released overnight, in contrast to the Reuters Tankan manufacturers’ survey for this month, which showed a decline in the figures.
Investors will now be looking forward to the Bank of Japan’s policymaker Funo’s speech, for added direction in the debt market.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, hovered around 0.06 percent, the yield on the long-term 30-year note remained flat at 0.79 percent and the yield on short-term 2-year traded tad lower at -0.15 percent by 04:30 GMT.
Japan’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) data showed on Monday that exports grew 12.2 percent in January from a year earlier, following a 9.3 percent year-on-year gain in the previous month. The result handily beat a 10.3 percent increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll.
Exports to China, Japan’s biggest trading partner, jumped 30.8 percent year-on-year in January, due in part to an export surge before the Lunar New Year that happened later than last year. The gain was led by semiconductor production equipment, car engines, and hybrid cars.
In contrast, the Reuters Tankan sentiment index for manufacturers stood at 29 in February, down from the previous month’s 11-year high of 35, the survey conducted January 31 to February 14 found. The monthly poll closely tracks the Bank of Japan’s key quarterly Tankan.
Meanwhile, the Nikkei 225 index remained flat at 21,720.25 by 04:35 GMT, while at 04:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly JPY Strength Index remained slightly bullish at 91.53 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex
FxWirePro launches Absolute Return Managed Program. For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/invest
