Risk-off flows moderated in the second half...>

FOREX: Risk-off flows moderated in the second half of the session, aided by

positive comments re: trade talks with China from U.S. Pres Trump and a RTRS

source story, which cited senior U.S. officials as suggesting that that the U.S.

and China "have made progress in all areas of trade talks," even as some

sticking points remain. This pushed AUD/USD and NZD/USD back into positive

territory. Early kiwi weakness stemmed from a soft NZ biz. confidence print.

- The yen remained strong nonetheless, as the Nikkei 225 operated in the red

(last -1.30).

- GBP shook off its initial weakness observed after the Commons rejected all

eight Brexit proposals that were subject to a series of indicative votes.

- USD/TRY spiked over 1000 pips higher during the NY/Asia crossover, unwinding

the late NY sell off. The flows may have been driven by participants wanting to

evade the surging overnight rate, in the wake of the central bank's efforts to

shore up the lira ahead of Turkey's national election.

- Today is particularly rich in central bank rhetoric, with U.S. Q4 GDP

revisions, German CPI and Swedish retail sales also due.