The lead in to the Asia session:
- Two OPEC meeting due Wednesday 02 March 2022 - oil ministers meet at 1230 GMT
- US aviation authority says the ban of Russian aircraft will be posted Wednesday
- Major FX rates little changed as Biden's SOTU continues
- Biden's SOTU confirms US banning Russian flights from using US airspace
- More on Exxon shutting down oil production in Russia
- BlackRock says market expectations of rate hikes have become excessive - upgrade equities
- US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is the designated survivor
- PBOC sets USD/ CNY mid-point today at 6.3351 (vs. estimate at 6.3347)
- Imminent North Korean missile test expected
- Australian Q4 2021 GDP 3.4% q/q (vs. expected 3.0%)
- ExxonMobil to halt operations at Sakhalin-1 and make no new investments in Russia
- US media reports now that Biden is expected to announce Russia flight ban in SOTU
- Japan capex +3.4% q/q and +4.3% y/y in Q4 2021
- US announces emergency sale of 30mn barrels of oil from reserve
- DJ reports that the US is expected to ban Russian flights
- Trading platform MarketAxess to pull trading for Russian sovereign bonds and corporates
- US Buttigieg says there is more to come soon on banning oil imports from Russia
- Canada want to take Russia to the International Criminal Court over war crimes
- Biden's speech Tuesday evening - some excerpts crossing
- Boeing has suspended parts, maintenance & technical support services for Russian airlines
- Yellen says G7 is ready to focus on freezing & seizing assets of Russian elites
- Private oil survey data shows a huge draw in headline crude oil inventory
- IMF and World Bank promise support for Ukraine "in coming months"
- New Zealand building permits -9.2% m/m (vs. expected 0.5%, prior 0.6%)
- Trade ideas thread - Wednesday 02 March 2022
- The US Secretary of Defense has pledged continued support to Ukraine
News flow was dominated by Ukraine matters once again. More firms announced the cessation of business in or with Russia, including notably Ford, Boeing (see bullets above) and Exxon (see bullets above). The US announced it was banning Russian flights from US airspace and that its going after Russian oligarchs’ assets.
T he data agenda included Q4 GDP data from Australia. It showed the economy had staged a strong recovery out of the Delta lockdowns to above its pre-pandemic size.
US President Biden gave his State of the Union address. While he did so oil kept on rallying, despite the news earlier of a US Strategic Oil Reserve release (and coordinated actions from others).
Major FX rates saw some small moves during the session only. USD/JPY has popped above 115 again while USD/CHF also added a few points. AUD & NZD ticked a little higher, as did CAD. Cable dropped back from highs approaching 1.3340.
OIL:
