The Antipodean FX remained slightly heavy,....>

FOREX: The Antipodean FX remained slightly heavy, retaining fragility showed

this week as exp. were mounting for the RBA & RBNZ to ease policy further. No

particular headlines or data releases seemed to drive AUD and NZD overnight, but

a degree of pressure might have been applied by softer equity markets across the

Asia-Pac region, as well as global trade & geopolitical tensions.

- That being said, G10 crosses mostly traded sideways. GBP showed some marginal

weakness, but all in all price action of G10 FX was very subdued.

- USD/KRW gapped higher at the open & touched its best levels in over a month,

amid a decline in S. Korean consumer confidence coupled with N. Korea's latest

missile test. Persistent worries re: S. Korea-Japan spat didn't help KRW either.

- Tokyo CPI headlined today's thin Asia-Pac data docket, but the release

provoked no substantial reaction, with main measures providing little deviation

vs. the June readings on net.

- Remaining data highlights today include advance U.S. GDP, Swedish retail

sales, as well as French and Italian consumer sentiment gauges. ECB Survey of

Professional Forecasters is also due.