Asian Currencies Slip as US Dollar Gains on Rising Iran Tensions and Awaited Jobs Data 
European Stocks Fall as US-Iran Conflict Rekindles Energy Supply Fears 
Japan’s Yen Intervention and BOJ Rate Hike Bets Support Currency Recovery 
Lula and Trump Talks Signal New Phase in Brazil-US Relations 
Saudi Aramco Q1 Profit Jumps 25% as Strait of Hormuz Crisis Reshapes Oil Exports 
Gold Prices Rise as Weaker Dollar and Iran Ceasefire Hopes Boost Safe-Haven Demand 
US-Iran Ceasefire Under Pressure as Fresh Strait of Hormuz Clashes Shake Oil Markets 
Asian Stocks Rally as Japan’s Nikkei Hits Record High on U.S.-Iran Peace Optimism 
The United Kingdom’s gilts edged tad lower during European trading hours Thursday after investors’ risk appetite returned to markets following de-escalation of political crisis in the Middle East.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year gilts, fell 1-1/2 basis points to 0.802 percent, the 30-year yield also lost close to 1-1/2 basis points to 1.270 percent and the yield on the short-term 2-year plunged 4-1/2 basis points to 0.591 percent by 10:00GMT.
This morning’s BRC retail sales monitor for the end of 2019 was unsurprisingly weak. While there was inevitably a bounce back in sales growth in December, with total sales growth up 6.3ppts to 1.9 percent y/y and like-for-like sales growth at 1.7 percent y/y, this reflected special factors related to the inclusion of the Black Friday discounting period that month compared with November in 2018, Daiwa Capital Markets reported.
Certainly, when smoothing out monthly volatility, today’s release implied continued underlying weakness in consumption – i.e. total sales were down 0.4 percent 3m/y in Q4 – suggesting a moderation in consumption growth from Q3. And over the year as whole, 2019 saw the first annual decline in BRC sales since records began in 1995, highlighting the major challenges facing the High Street, the report added.
Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 remained 0.64 percent up at 7,623.07 by 10:05GMT.
