The interplay between soaring oil prices......>

FOREX: The interplay between soaring oil prices and flight to safety, set in

motion by the Saturday drone strike at major Saudi Aramco facilities, drove

trading activity overnight. The initial reaction unwound slightly, as U.S.

President Trump authorised the release of oil from U.S. petroleum reserves to

rebalance the mkt if needed. However, his warning that the U.S. remains "locked

and loaded" to respond once the culprit is known added to geopolitical tensions.

- NOK & CAD were the big winners on firmer oil prices, even as the latter eased

off highs. Cautious mood sparked appetite for safe havens & weighed on AUD & NZD

(they were helped off lows by stronger commodities). Risk-off & UK PM Johnson's

hard-line Brexit stance ahead of his meeting w/EU's Juncker pressured GBP.

- RUB easily outperformed its EMFX peers, with the likes of TRY, INR, PHP, or

KRW facing selling pressure as crude rallied. USD/KRW advanced, but not quite

enough to fill the gap registered as the rate played catch-up to the moves in

USD/yuan pre-weekend, when South Korean markets were shut for holidays.

- A string of soft Chinese activity figures did little to improve the outlook.

- Japan off for holidays; Italy CPI, U.S. Empire m'fing, ECB speakers in focus.