Morning Update – 13/03/2017 – by Arjun Lakhanpal
March 13, 2017Morning all.. Wall St closed up 0.33% after a decent set of data and US yields remained elevated through the session but the USD rather lagged. It seems some are concerned about the forthcoming G20 meeting and what US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin may demand. This maybe be the reason for a lagging USD in the last few days in the face of strong data..The Nikkei had a quiet session and closed up 0.15% with a lack of data to help and USDJPY staying in a tight range. EUR remained near the highs after a decent rally Friday but ECB’s Smets said the ECB has not taken a first step toward removing stimulus; latest policy statement included improved economic outlook does not signal a coming change in policy; reflects assessment of a “somewhat changed reality”, not more than that; no assurances yet that inflation will rise without ECB stimulus; ECB assessment of inflation at March meeting was little changed from Dec; ECB looking through short-term changes in headline inflation. In Germany Spiegel sources suggested Merkel will warn Trump that his tax plans risks German retaliation; will describe a ‘protective tariff’ against Germany goods includes duties on US products if border-adjustment tax is introduced.. Evening Standard sources: UK PM May could trigger A50 as early as Tuesday if peers pass Brexit bill on Monday night although nothing confirmed at present; May’s opening demands in Brexit negotiations have already been drafted. Very little data of note today.. Good luck.
