Themes

· General mood is “risk off”

· Hawkish comments from Fed’s Powell supports U.S. rates and the Dollar

· Oil prices surge, supporting the Canadian Dollar

What’s Moving

With little of note on the data calendar overnight, the market still didn’t let us down. Comments from Fed’s Powell talking up the chances of a 50bp rate hike at the next Fed meeting saw U.S rates rise, which prompted a decent supporting bid for the Dollar.

Best gains were against the Yen, with USD/JPY now at six-year highs.

Oil prices were also firmer on the day, which lent a nice bid to the Canadian Dollar.

Thoughts

Should be another quiet session in Asia today, with Japan back on deck after yesterday’s holiday and with a lack of any major local data releases.

RBA Governor Lowe will speak today, which may have an impact on the AUD.