U.S. Pres Trump provided the attendees of.....>

FOREX: U.S. Pres Trump provided the attendees of his campaign rally with a round

of usual complaints about trade practices of China and the "even worse" EU. That

said, in spite of little outright positivity on the wires, broader risk appetite

improved somewhat. AUD appreciated vs. all of its G10 peers as a result, while

also sapping strength from its Antipodean cousin via reported cross flows.

- NZD was easily the worst G10 performer for the bulk of the session, before

recovering sentiment shifted some weight to safe haven FX, pushing CHF to the

bottom of the pile. The kiwi slipped early on as the latest NZ BusinessNZ

manufacturing PMI survey indicated that the sector entered contraction for the

first time since 2012. Despite paring some losses, NZD remains fragile.

- RBNZ Gov Orr pushed back against criticism of last week's larger than exp. OCR

cut, saying that the Bank's policymaking is "deliberately forward looking."

- USD/KRW opened slightly higher after S. Korean holiday break amid security

concerns triggered by Pyongyang's missile launches & hard-line rhetoric. 

- EZ trade balance features on today's docket alongside U.S. U. of Mich.

Sentiment & housing starts. Norges Bank Dep Gov Matsen is set to speak.