The Euro drop to $1.3333 yesterday

Good Morning,

- Euro trade steady, above 9-month low, ahead of ECB meeting later today…

- Asia stocks slip and bonds on demand, as concerns over Ukraine tensions increase. Japan's Nikkei 0.48%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.78% (07:03 GMT), Korea's Kospi -0.30%, Australia's ASX 200 -0.06% and China's Shanghai -1.34%.

- The Euro drop to $1.3333 yesterday, its lowest level since last November as disappointing data from Italy and Germany soured sentiment toward the single currency. Italy unexpectedly slid back into recession in the second quarter, while German industrial orders in June posted their biggest monthly fall since September 2011, data showed on Wednesday.

- President Putin announced embargo against US & EU. Russia said on Wednesday it will ban all imports of food from the United States and all fruit and vegetables from Europe, in a sweeping response to Western sanctions imposed over its support for rebels in Ukraine.

- German industrial output grew less than forecast in June as Europe’s largest economy came under pressure from political tensions with Russia. Production, adjusted for seasonal swings, rose 0.3 percent from May, when it declined a revised 1.7 percent, the Economy Ministry said today. While that’s the first increase in four months, economists predicted a gain of 1.2 percent, according to the median of 34 estimates in a Bloomberg s survey.

- The European Central Bank is set to hold fire on rates on Thursday as it waits for earlier stimulus measures to gain traction, while keeping an eye on emerging risks from the conflict in Ukraine. The ECB cut interest rates to record lows in June, became the first major central bank to charge banks for holding their deposits overnight and launched a new ultra-cheap, four-year loan program, dubbed TLTROs, to be rolled out later this year. "After the fireworks in June, it is not the time to take fresh measures because the ECB wants to wait and see how things develop," said Reinhard Cluse, economist at UBS.

- None of the 64 economists in a Reuters polled expect any change to the refinancing or deposit rates when the ECB’s Governing Council meets later today.

- The 10-year U.S. debt yield hit a two-month low of 2.433 percent on Wednesday and last stood at 2.46 percent.

- The trade deficit in the U.S. unexpectedly narrowed in June, reflecting the biggest drop in imports in a year. The gap shrank 7 percent to $41.5 billion, the smallest since January, from May’s $44.7 billion, Commerce Department figures showed on Wednesday.

- The Japanese yen coming under pressure on news that Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund plans to increase its allocation to domestic equities. The dollar rose 0.3 percent to 102.40 yen, pulling away from a 1-1/2 week low near 101.76 yen set on Wednesday.

- The Australian dollar sank after Australia's unemployment rate jumped unexpectedly to a 12-year high, sparking talk of an interest rate cut.

- The jobless rate in Australia rose to 6.4 percent from 6 percent, versus the median estimate for unemployment to hold steady in a Bloomberg.

- Watch today: German industry, BoE and ECB announcements.

Have a nice Day!