Themes

• General mood is “risk off”
• Fed’s Powell made hawkish comments in overnight trade
• U.S. Initial Claims slightly weaker at 215k from 223k talk

What’s Moving

Hawkish comments from Fed Chair Powell overnight, who pretty much guaranteed a 25bp hike at this month’s meeting were the main focus of overnight trade on financial markets.

U.S. Initial Claims printed weaker than expected, but this was pretty much sidelined ahead of a hawkish Powell and the Russian/Ukrainian issues.

The AUD was the best performer overnight, screaming to a fresh four month high amid further gains in oil prices.

Thoughts

Expect end of week position adjustment to dominate local trade today.

There is a little data slated, but the Ukraine and position adjustment will most likely dominate flows. Data today includes:

• Australian Retail Sales (E: +1.8%)
• Japanese Unemployment (E: 2.7%)

Pivot Points