- Very quiet in Asia ahead of ECB and BOE policy meetings
- BOE seen as 50:50 on new round of QE
- ECB expected to adopt special measures rather than rate cuts
- Regional stockmarkets rally by up to 4.5%
- Oil $79.50/bbl; Gold $1647/oz
- Apple founder Steve Jobs dies
The session was only notable for the announcement of the passing of Apple founder Steve Jobs, who died after a long illness.
Stockmarkets were not affected by the news, with all sectors higher across the region. The Hang Seng was up by almost 4.5% and the Kospi gaine 4%.
EUR/USD spent the entire first half of the session trading in a 10 pip range around 1.3350 and slipped briefly after lunch when the USD/Asia pairs moved higher. This move was short-lived and after bottoming at 1.3318, the pair has now flatlined again near 1.3335. Ranges: 1.3318/64
The NZD/USD did see some minor volatility in early trade, moving higher towards .7680 and this gave the AUD/USD a modest lift. Strong sell orders at .9700 are dissuading bullish momentum for now, and the AUD/USD fell back as USD/Asia moved higher. Ranges: .9617/63
USD/CHF .9215/55; USD/JPY 76.67/85; Cable 1.5417/75
