The first half of today's Asia-Pac session....>

FOREX: The first half of today's Asia-Pac session was headlined by a meeting

between UK PM May and EU Commission President Juncker on the eve of the

meaningful vote re: May's Brexit deal. A joint presser from both leaders pointed

to the temporary nature of the Irish backstop, but some eurosceptic MPs noted

that EU pledges fall short of exp. Nevertheless, GBP rallied across the board,

extending on yesterday's Brexit optimism. AG Cox's ruling on the matter will be

key. The DUP has chosen not to give a view on the developments at present.

- The yen has landed at the bottom of the G10 pile, as a combination of Brexit

optimism & a positive session for the Nikkei 225, which last trades ~1.7%

higher, conspired against the currency.

- AUD posted a leg lower upon the release of softer than exp. domestic housing

finance data & NAB biz. conf. survey, but the initial impact proved short-lived.

- Focus today turns to UK industrial/m'fing production & trade balance, U.S. CPI

and Swedish CPI. Elsewhere, RBA Dep Gov Debelle, ECB's Enria & Lautenschlaeger,

as well as Fed's Brainard will speak. The Brexit vote in the UK House of Commons

will be closely watched, and is expected at some point after 19:00 London.