A calmer afternoon session for FX, with.......>

FOREX: A calmer afternoon session for FX, with most of the action in Govies and

Equities this afternoon

-GBP extending lower since the Retail Sales morning release, and GBPUSD is now

looking to test back towards 1.3000, trading 1.3023 at the time of typing. -The

British pound feels heavy as investors head for the weekend.

-Huge focus here turns to the UK PMIs on 24th January.

-Scandies started the morning session bid in very thin liquidity, but saw some

offshore interest later in the day. The EURSEK sits close to flat on the day.

-Very little to report in G10, with JPY, CAD, all within ranges.

-In EM, the Rand was bid this morning, but things quickly turned on the back

of:"@tito_mboweni Politics and Longevity. Political history shows that

overstaying your time in office is bad. Unlike royalty, you may be ejected from

State House in an undignified manner. It is good to retire gracefully."

-Some thought Mboweni was indicating that he was about to step down after a

recent spat with his ANC colleagues about the fate of the Reserve Bank. USDZAR

is 14.4520.