The Covid-19 epidemic continued to sour.......>

FOREX: The Covid-19 epidemic continued to sour risk appetite as South Korea's

case count surged further and Australia confirmed two infections among evacuated

cruiser passengers. Implications for mkt sentiment were reflected in flash PMI

surveys released out of Japan and Australia, both of which saw respective

services gauges join the m'fing metrics in contractionary territory.

- The Antipodeans landed at the bottom of the G10 pile, although at one point

NZD blipped higher as RBNZ Gov Orr said he's in no rush to cut interest rates.

AUD/USD moved lower still, showing under the $0.6600 mark at a new 11-year low.

USD/JPY softened a tad, but was happy to stick around Y112.00 cleared yesterday.

- USD/CNH eased off even as the PBoC set its USD/CNY mid-point above

expectations and at the highest level since Dec 12. USD/CNY crept higher.

- The won was hit by swelling Covid-19 case count & South Korea's prelim. trade

data, which proved weak after adjusting for the no. of working days.

- Flash Eurozone, UK & U.S. PMI readings are the highlights today, with EZ

CPI, U.S. existing home sales & Canadian retail sales also coming up. Speakers

are due from across the Fed, ECB, BoE and Riksbank.