Today's news headlines:

‘Biden team weighs a massive release of oil to combat inflation’. The Biden administration is considering releasing up to 180 million barrels of oil reserves over several months to combat rising inflation. Rising gasoline prices have squeezed households after the Russian invasion led to supply shortages, adding pressure on Biden to slow the pace of US inflation ahead of the midterm elections in November. (Bloomberg)

‘Germany freezes $106m of funds under Russia sanctions’. Germany has frozen $106m related to sanctioned Russian individuals, significantly less than other European nations. Deputy Finance Minister Toncar stated ‘the focus is on ensuring existing instruments are effective… also to identify who may be circumventing and how’. In comparison, Italy and France have frozen 780m and 850m euros, respectively while Switzerland, a Russian wealth haven, has frozen $6bn in assets. (Bloomberg)

Today

Equity futures rose and sovereign yields dipped into the final trading day of the quarter while oil prices fell following the announcement of a potential release of US oil. The US Dollar was steady overnight on a trade-weighted basis.

Events

Japanese Industrial Production MoM (Feb): 0.2% (est. 0.8%)
Chinese Manufacturing PMI (Mar): 49.5 (est. 49.8)
UK Nationwide House Price Index (Mar): 14.3% (est. 13.4%)
UK GDP YoY (4Q21): 6.6% (est. 6.5%)
US Personal Spending and Personal Income: 1:30PM
Canadian GDP MoM (Jan): 1:30PM
US MNI Chicago PMI (Mar): 2:45PM

Interbank rates:

GBP/USD – 1.3140
GBP/EUR – 1.1768 
EUR/USD – 1.1166
USD/CAD – 1.2498

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