Trends extend as oil...............>

EMERGING MARKETS: Trends extend as oil importer/exporter gap widens

-The contrasting fortunes of oil importers/exporters were clear Monday, as the

double digit rise in crude futures underpinned some, but pressured others across

EMFX. The tension was cemented by reports in Saudi Arabia confirming that

Iranian weaponry was used in the attack on Saudi oil installations, leaving the

coming days as critically important for energy price-exposed currencies. This

unsurprisingly worked in favour of the RUB, which extends its winning streak

against the greenback to a third session, prompting USD/RUB to show below the

64.00 mark for the first time since early August.

-Oil importers were less fortunate, with offshore forward outrights continuing

to reflect weakness in INR and KRW markets. Mirroring this, traders sought

hedges for further downside in key oil importers, evident in the $150mln

1,1900/1,200 USD/KRW one-week call spread crossing mid-European morning.

-Russian PPI and Colombian industrial production are the data highlights Tuesday

in a thin session. Focus remains on central bank decisions later in the week,

with Brazilian, Taiwanese, South African and Indonesian decisions due.