Themes

· General mood is “risk off”

· U.S. Durable Goods weaker at -2.2% from -0.5% talk

· U.S. Initial Claims better than expected at 187k

What’s Moving

Yen was again hit hard against the Dollar and most of the major crosses, with players looking to lock in yield plays amid rising global interest rates and Japan’s steadfast comments against rate hikes. USD/JPY topped 122.00 and is opening in Asia above that level.

AUD ad CAD benefited from the Yen weakness despite the dip in oil prices, while mixed U.S. data provided little impetus to trading activity.

Thoughts

Well, its Friday and we didn’t get a great deal of dictional cues from overnight trading, so its far to say it will be another quiet day in Asia today. Expect some profit taking on Yen shorts after the recent big moves in that currency this week.

Data in Asia today sees:

· Japanese Tokyo Core CPI (E: +0.7%)

· Japanese SPPI (E: +1.2%)