Rate gapped lower at the open,..........>

EURO-DOLLAR: Rate gapped lower at the open, bottoming out at $1.1159 in early

Asia-Pac trade, as global equity futures dumped on Trump's threats to jack up

tariff costs facing China to 25% for hundreds of billions of goods. In response,

China's trade team are said to be considering delaying the next phase of

negotiations. The rate recovered somewhat ahead of the EU open, with Friday's

lows never looking in doubt. A nudge back above $1.12 will likely be contingent

on firm final April PMI numbers due this morning (from 0800BST to 0900BST) which

would allow EUR/USD to creep closer to the most significant option expiries

today lying at $1.1245-55 (E2.27bln). The 21-dma may provide firmer resistance

at the $1.1228 level ahead of broken trendline resistance kicking in at $1.1248.

-Absence of UK markets today will likely keep volumes and liquidity thin.