Today's news headlines:

‘Russia aims to annex occupied Ukraine as invasion goals shift’. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s focus has turned to cementing control in Ukrainian regions that Russia has taken in the 10-weeks since its invasion of the country began. According to people reportedly involved in the Kremlin’s plan, locals will be ordered to use Rubles for transactions, and referendums will be organised in some areas. (Bloomberg)

‘China’s independent refiners start buying Russian oil at steep discounts.’ Chinese independent refiners have been discreetly purchasing Russian oil at a discount by bypassing traditional routes to avoid scrutiny and sanctions from the Western world. An official at an independent Chinese refinery claimed it had taken over part of a quota for Russian oil from state-owned Chinese refineries. So far, the UK and US have banned Russian oil while the EU is introducing restrictions. (Financial Times)

Today

European bonds fell on Wednesday’s open while global equity markets were mixed ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement this evening. Oil prices continued to drift higher to $107 a barrel, and the US Dollar opened Wednesday higher on a trade-weighted index.

Events

Australian Retail Sales MoM (Mar): 1.6% (est. 0.5%)
Eurozone Services and Composite PMI (Apr): 9:00AM
UK Mortgage Approvals (Mar): 9:30AM
US ADP Employment Change (Apr): 1:15PM
Federal Reserve monetary policy announcement: 7:00PM

Interbank rates:
​​​​​​​
​​​​​​​GBP/USD – 1.2498
GBP/EUR – 1.1880
EUR/USD – 1.0520
USD/CAD – 1.2834

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