The USD continues its advance, making fresh gains against the EUR-USD, which triggered option-related stops on the break below 1.2500, and with Kiwi falling to fresh Nov. 2002 lows today. The catalyst for the move was the weaker-than-expected -0.5% decline in Australian Q4 GDP with the sharp slide in the AUD helping to trigger the slide in EUR and NZD. AUD however, found support near recent lows under 0.6300, while GBP-USD similarly saw weakness stalled at recent lows just under 1.4000. In addition, despite being well bid, USD-JPY gains stalled at 98.58, and under the recent highs seen last month at 98.72. EUR-USD, which had already declined to 1.2540 by the Tokyo open, dropped to lows of 1.2456 once the options at 1.2500 were triggered, and recovered to consolidate around 1.2500 ahead of the London open. Oil prices held above $41 after gains in NY while gold prices remained heavy, losing further ground after dropping over $26 in New York on Friday. Of note was news that China was likely to announce another Yuan 4 tln stimulus package with the news reversing losses on most Asian stock markets on Wednesday, for a positive close.
