Same old story -Haven FX rallied across the...>

FOREX: Same old story

-Haven FX rallied across the early Asia-Pacific session as newsflow continued to

squeeze hopes of a near-term 'phase one' deal between the US and China. The

waters look far calmer ahead of the NY crossover, however, with markets

recovering on BBG reports that China's Vice Premier Liu stated that he is

"cautiously optimistic" about a trade pact with the US. As a result, after being

the strongest early doors, JPY is far more mixed at the midpoint of the European

trading day. Markets elsewhere are more mixed, with commodity-tied currencies

softer while Scandi FX modestly outperforms.

-Much focus remains on whether US President Trump signs the contentious Hong

Kong Bill drafted by the House - he has ten days in which to do so and could be

interpreted as hostile by the Chinese if he goes ahead.

-US Philadelphia Fed survey and weekly jobless claims numbers are due ahead of

October existing home sales data. ECB minutes are due, as well as speeches from

Fed's Mester & Kashkari, ECB's de Guindos and BoC's Poloz.