European PMIs have set the tone this..........>

FOREX: European PMIs have set the tone this morning with the French PMIs seeing

the biggest falls and both falling below 50 on the back of the gilet jaunes

protests. With disappointment also seen in the German and pan-Eurozone numbers,

there has been a pessimistic tone to trading this morning.

- The euro has fallen 0.6% today at the time of writing. EURUSD had been

consolidating into a symmetrical triangle pattern over the past month and the

poor PMI data has been to the trigger to break out to the downside. At the time

of writing EURUSD was 0.6% lower on the day.

- The antipodes remain the underperformers on the day following disappointing

Chinese data overnight and a risk-off feel to Asian equities. However, at the

time of writing both AUD and NZD were starting to pick up from their lows of the

day on headlines that China would suspend retaliatory tariffs on US vehicles and

auto parts for three months.

- Most other currencies are softer against the USD today, with the exception of

the yen which is marginally higher. The DXY index has hit its strongest level

since Nov 13.