Headlines:
- USD/JPY extends gains as bond yields also push higher
- Japan finance minister says closely watching movement in yen exchange rate
- Moscow says that Russia-Ukraine talks are still continuing
- SNB reports foreign currency interventions of CHF 21.1 billion in 2021
- ECB's de Guindos: We can dismiss the possibility of stagflation
- UK March CBI trends total orders 26 vs 16 expected
Markets:
- NZD leads, JPY lags on the day
- European equities higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.3%
- US 10-year yields up 2.7 bps to 2.344%
- Gold down 0.5% to $1,927.30
- WTI down 0.1% to $112.02
- Bitcoin up 4.2% to $42,900
The big mover on the session is the Japanese yen as it crumbled in the wake of a breakout in USD/JPY above 120.00. The pair carved out a fresh six-year high in a push from 111.95 to 121.00 and is holding just below that currently.
The dollar was initially buoyed by that and higher Treasury yields (again) but other major currencies played catch up in capitalising on the breakout in the yen and policy divergence focus.
NZD/JPY in particular is up 2% to near 84.00 while AUD/JPY is closing in on 90.00, up 1.5% on the day.
The euro is struggling a little with EUR/USD keeping closer to 1.1000 still but GBP/USD managed to claw its way back up from 1.3130 to above 1.3200, its highest level in two weeks.
Equities are keeping slightly more optimistic, with European indices holding decent gains while US futures are also higher.
But it is all about the yen breakout at the moment with higher bond yields continuing to fuel the momentum.
