From Marc Chandler at Bannockburn Global Forex:
Overview: Outside of the Australian and New Zealand dollars, which are off by 0.20%-0.25%, the other G10 currencies are little changed and mostly softer in narrow ranges. A firm Tokyo CPI, mostly on base effects and softer rates helped keep the US dollar below the recent highs against the Japanese yen. Most emerging market currencies are lower, led by the Malaysian ringgit. Meanwhile, the Hungarian forint is stabilizing after extending losses to new record levels against the euro. The new news among US data today is the ISM services. It is expected to have softened, but disappointment could weigh on US rates.
The US 10-year yield is off about 2.5 bp to 4.19%. The 200-day moving average is near 4.17%. It has not closed below it since the January jobs report on February 2. European benchmark yields are 2-3 bp lower and the UK Gilt yield is off slightly more than four basis points ahead of tomorrow's Spring Budget. The US Commerce Department's decision to require AMD to get license to sell chips tailored for China because they are still too powerful may have contributed to the 2.6% slide in mainland shares that trade in Hong Kong, while the CSI 300 itself was up about 0.7%. Tokyo's equities were mixed, while Taiwan and New Zealand saw small gains, while the other larger bourses traded off. Europe's Stoxx 600 is down by 0.3% in late morning dealings. US index futures are also trading with a heavier bias. Meanwhile, gold's surge has continued. It is closing in on the high set last December near $2135.40. It is up $100 an ounce since last Monday. April WTI initially extended yesterday's pullback but found support ahead of $78 and has recovered back to session highs, just inside yesterday's range, of almost $78.90....
....MUCH MORE
Mr. Chandler notes at the outset:
(Business trip will interrupt the commentary over the next few days. Check out the March monthly here. Back with the Week Ahead on March 9. May have some comments on X @marcmakingsense.)
