RANsquawk DAILY EUROPEAN OPENING NEWS – 19/04/12
ASIA
JGBs prices were narrowly mixed, dealers noted one cautious megabank bought 3-yr JGBs in early afternoon trading after having sold 10-yr JGBs yesterday. (RTRS)
Japanese Merchandise Trade Balance Total (JPY) (Mar) M/M -82.6bln vs. Exp. -223.2bln (Prev. 32.9bln, Rev. 29.4bln)
Japanese Adjusted Merchandise Trade Balance (JPY) (Mar) M/M -621.3bln vs. Exp. 446.3bln (Prev. -313.2bln, Rev. -321.4bln)
Japanese Merchandise Trade Exports (Mar) Y/Y 5.9% vs. Exp. 0.2% (Prev. -2.7%)
Japanese Merchandise Trade Imports (Mar) Y/Y 10.5% vs. Exp. 7.0% (Prev. 9.2%) (Sources)
RTRS Tankan poll has shown Japanese Manufacturers Sentiment Index +1 in April and Non-Manufacturers Index +10 over the same period. (RTRS)
BoJ's Shirakawa has said the central bank is fully committed to asset purchases to meet the 1% inflation target. Shirakawa said that the economy may come to expect a prolonged period of low interest rates, but warns that these low rates could exacerbate financial imbalances.
A Chinese PBOC Official has said the bank is to steadily boost liquidity via a cut in Banks' RRR and an increase in reverse repos. The official continued by saying that liquidity can also be boosted via the maturity of central bank bills. (Xinhua)
Ex-PBOC adviser Li has said targeted policy easing is likely in the coming months in order to support manufacturing, services and small businesses. (Sources)
GLOBAL
IMF's Lagarde has said the global economic situation is extremely unstable. Lagarde continues by saying that the IMF has commitments for USD 316bln in resources and further commitments 'in the bag'. (Sources) Lagarde says Poland and Switzerland are to commit a total of USD 34bln in new fund resources.
A senior Canadian finance official said yesterday that Canada is not prepared to make a bilateral commitment to increase IMF resources. (RTRS)
US
T-notes settled in positive territory in a quiet session in the CBOT on Wednesday. The Fed conducted two operations yesterday that saw plenty of two-way flow, rate lock deals also bolstered issuance. The safety of US paper was also a driver ahead of today's Spanish auctions; this has seen the 10y yield continue to trade around the 2.0% level. At the pit close, t-notes settled at 131.18, up 4+ ticks. Finally the DJIA finished at 13032.75, down 0.63%; the NDX finished at 2716.14 down 0.27%; and the SPX finished at 1385.14, down 0.14%. T-notes were trading broadly flat heading to the EU session at 131.17+, as market participants remain cautious ahead of the key data out of the US today at 1500BST. Last price taken at 0630BST. (RANsquawk)
A US panel has voted to revoke new powers granted to financial regulators to liquidate faltering financial firms, although this move has little chance of getting through Congress. (Sources) Republicans have argued that the powers are tantamount to institutionalizing bailouts.
EU
Fitch's Director for Western Europe warned that Fitch might consider lowering the Dutch government's 'AAA' credit rating, saying that the rating agency will consider the rating in June, and placing the Netherlands on negative outlook is a first possible step towards the eventual downgrade, unless the country takes reasonable action to cut its budget deficit and stop its debt rising. (Telegraph)
French President Sarkozy's campaign for re-election appears to have stalled ahead of the first round of voting on Sunday, according to polls. (FT-More) The polls show that an earlier advance by the current president has faded and he now remains far behind Francois Hollande for the decisive second round on May 6th.
FX
Australian NAB Business Confidence (Q1) Q/Q -1 (Prev. 1) (Sources)
Australian PM Gillard has said there is plenty of room for the RBA to cut rates, and such a move could alleviate pressure on the non-mining sectors of the economy. (Sources)
New Zealand Consumer Prices (Q1) Q/Q 0.5% vs. Exp. 0.5% (Prev. -0.3%)
New Zealand Consumer Prices (Q1) Y/Y 1.6% vs. Exp. 1.6% (Prev. 1.8%) (Sources)
Brazilian SELIC Target – Central Bank (Apr) M/M 9.00% vs. Exp. 9.00% (Prev. 9.75%) (Sources)
GEOPOLITICAL
UN officials are studying images of military equipment paraded by North Korea at the weekend after a tip-off that one of the new missile launchers included significant Chinese technology that could put Beijing in breach of international sanctions against North Korea. (FT-More)
India have tested a new long-range nuclear-capable missile, according to reports. (Sources)
COMMODITIES
WTI crude futures were trading in minor negative heading into the European session down USD 0.05 at USD 102.62, following yesterday's key Department of Energy figures. Last price taken at 0635BST (RANsquawk)
BNP Paribas cut its Nymex 2012 natural gas forecast 13% to USD 2.34. (RTRS)
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*Disclaimer: The information in the Market Commentaries was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but we do not guarantee its accuracy. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed therein constitutes a solicitation of the purchase or sale of any futures or options contracts.
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