There was a firmly risk off mood in...........>

FOREX: There was a firmly risk off mood in Asia-Pac equities, but forex markets

were relatively untroubled and price action has been mixed to say the least. The

US dollar index has moved in a fairly narrow range, despite fluctuations in

equity futures and UST's. USD/JPY is last up 28 pips at 109.02, the pair touched

session lows of 108.50 early on but bounced on demand heading into the Tokyo

fix. Some chatter of advanced Gotobi demand due to Japanese holiday on Monday.

Yen remains weak despite the risk off sentiment, EUR/JPY up 41 pips at 133.61,

while 1 month risk reversals in yen rise to the highest since early 2017 as the

stock sell off sees yen strength hedging. 

- AUD/USD weakened early in the session after weak Home Loans data and a dovish

RBA SOMP where the Bank indicated risks were skewed to the downside and

forecasts for inflation staying below target. Sterling is stronger, boosted by

the hawkish BoE yesterday where the Bank kept rates on hold but highlighted rate

hikes could come earlier than expected with a potentially steeper path. USD/CNY

fix was weaker at 6.3194, the biggest drop since Jan 2017. The PBoC announced

they had released CNY2tln of liquidity ahead of Lunar NY.