Regional data releases have driven price......>

FOREX: Regional data releases have driven price action in early Asia-Pac trade.

In the latest twist, slightly softer than exp. Chinese PMI data sent AUD back to

unch. levels & generated further underperformance for NZD vs. G10 FX. This came

after a strong AU private capex print & a soft NZ biz. confidence release pulled

the Antipodean cousins to the opposite ends of the G10 pile.

- JPY has climbed to the top of the G10 pile, with the Nikkei 225 ~0.4% lower at

writing.

- USD/CNH spiked higher upon the release of Chinese PMIs, but quickly eased off,

and last trades ~40 pips lower on the day.

- Focus today turns to U.S. initial jobless claims, U.S., French & Swedish GDPs,

as well as Italian, French & German CPIs. Elsewhere, BoJ's Suzuki speaks at the

bottom of the hour, while Fed's Clarida, Bostic, Harker & Kaplan, as well as

Norges Bank Gov Olsen are set to speak throughout the day.