Today's news headlines:

‘US officials say Russia has asked China for military help in Ukraine’. US officials have claimed that Russia has asked China for military equipment to support its invasion of Ukraine. While specific details have not been given, officials say there are signs that Russia is running out of some weaponry as the invasion closes in on its third week. Liu Pengyu, the Chinese embassy spokesperson in Washington, said he was unaware of any suggestion that China is willing to provide Russia military support. (Financial Times)

‘Fed to start rate hikes with license to turn aggressive later’. Rates markets are near certain of a 25-basis-point interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve this week, followed by nearly six more by December 2022. Global inflation fears are now compounded by higher energy, food, and metal prices caused by the Ukraine conflict, while simultaneously lowering economic growth expectations. (Bloomberg)

Today

Asian equities closed lower on Monday, led by Chinese tech stocks, while European equities ticked higher at the open. Treasury yields climbed ahead of the Federal Reserve policy announcement on Wednesday. The US Dollar slipped on a trade-weighted basis along with oil prices, with Brent trading around $110 a barrel on Monday morning.

Events

Indian Consumer Price Index YoY (Feb): 12:00PM
Russian Trade Balance (Jan): 1:00PM
BusinessNZ Services Index: 9:30PM

Interbank rates:

GBP/USD – 1.3036
GBP/EUR – 1.1914
EUR/USD – 1.0942
USD/CAD – 1.2772

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