- A technical rebound in the USD, continuing worries over the health of the U.S. economy and expectations of an OPEC production increase dragged Nymex crude oil below $94/bbl. OPEC president Mohamed Al Hamli, the oil minister of the UAE, said that the group is willing to put more supply into the market, adding that nothing is on the agenda for the Dec 5 meeting. The Saudi Oil Minister said that he wasn't aware of talk about a 750K bpd production increase, adding that OPEC must look at data before deciding on policy at the Dec 5 meeting.

- Forex trading between 17:00 ET and 23:09 ET: USD/CAD couldn't move above 0.9980, AUD/USD found a bottom at 0.8740 and NZD/USD couldn't hold on to gains above 0.7600. The JPY gained during Asia as Japanese exporters purchased it to pay bills due at the end of the month. The USD had a technical rebound in Asia, but most analysts seem to agree that the USD has a downside risk with the Beige Book to be released tomorrow. USD/JPY -0.57%, EUR/JPY -0.67%, EUR/USD -0.09%, AUD/USD -0.21%, NZD/AUD +0.19%, CHF/JPY -0.58%, USD/CAD +0.06%, USD index +0.08%

- Japanese retail sales better than expected during October: (JP OCT RETAL TRADE YOY: 0.8% V 0.7% expected, 0.5% prior; MOM: 0.3% V 0.0% expected, -1.5% prior) Analysts pointed out that retail sales were boosted by brisk sales of new car models. The strong headline doesn't tell the complete story - rising food and oil prices lifted retail sales figures in nominal terms, but the real-term figures were not that strong. The consensus is that Japanese data will do little to change the prevailing market view that the Bank of Japan will leave rates unchanged until well into next year as they wait for financial market turmoil to end.

- Aussie housing market takes a dent after recent rate hikes: (AU OCT HIA NEW HOME SALES MOM: 0.8% V 9.9% prior) The slow pace of demand follows the interest rate hikes by the Reserve Bank of Australia in August and November.

- The ECB president Trichet said in a press interview that he does not welcome "brutal currency moves", adding that he appreciates the "strong USD policy" of U.S. authorities. Trichet said that price stability is all the more important in market correction, adding that there is no trade-offs between stable prices and helping the money market.

- Equities: At 23:00 ET Japan's Nikkei is -0.39%, Australia's ASX is -1.04%, South Korea's KOSPI is -0.57% after an early rally and the Shanghai Composite Index is +0.48%. The firming JPY hurt Japanese exporters, while investors sold financials despite the Citigroup cash injection. Aussie financials also traded lower, and resource-related shares dipped on global growth concerns. Goldman Sachs turned cautious on Posco, dragging the KOSPI lower.

- Commodities: Nymex crude oil lost -0.67% between 18:00 ET and 23:07 ET, last quoted at $93.79/bbl, as traders position for tomorrow's weekly crude inventories data. Spot gold is lower by -0.83%, quoted at $814.40/oz, tracking lower oil prices and a rebounding USD. Shanghai copper is trading slightly higher on bargain hunting.

(by Eben Esterhuizen and Gavin Pierce)