Today's Asia-Pacific session saw a modest.....>

FOREX: Today's Asia-Pacific session saw a modest risk-off tone creep in, with

focus on the Indian-Pakistani tensions & fresh controversies around Chinese tech

giant Huawei. JPY benefited as a result, in contrast to high beta FX. Yen

strength allowed the Nikkei 225 to slide into negative territory, while USD/JPY

sunk back below Y111.00.

- AUD modestly underperformed its G10 peers, even as RBA's Harper told MNI that

he believes the next rate move will be up, if the labour mkt remains strong,

while CNH pared some of its recent gains, with with USD/CNH adding ~125 pips.

- GBP remained atop the G10 pile, after it picked up a bid on the back of a BBG

source report suggesting that UK PM May will allow her ministers to discuss

delaying Brexit during today's Cabinet meeting. This was followed by the Sun's

report stating that May will propose to ministers that she formally takes a

no-deal Brexit off the table.

- Focus today turns to U.S. cons. conf., housing starts & building permits.

Central bank rhetoric will be provided by ECB's Lane, Mersch, Coeure, Visco & de

Cos, BoE's Carney, Ramsden, Vlieghe & Haskel, as well as Fed Chair Powell.