Global FX DATA:

• • • ASIAN MARKET
      
      Asian shares edged higher on Thursday while the euro gained some respite after hitting five-month lows a day earlier.
       
    • GOLD
      
      Gold prices made modest gains on Thursday after touching their lowest level this year in the previous session, amid geopolitical uncertainty and a slightly weaker U.S. dollar.
       
  • • OIL
      
      Oil prices firmed on Thursday, with Brent crude creeping ever closer to $80 per barrel, a level it has not seen since November 2014, as supplies tighten while demand remains strong.
       
    • INDIA
      
      The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was on Wednesday asked to form a government in Karnataka, sparking criticism from the opposition who said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party did not win enough seats to take power.
       
    • DOLLAR
      
      The dollar stood tall against a basket of currencies on Thursday, as the euro retreated to a five-month low on concerns the political developments in Italy could cause wider disruptions in the common currency bloc.
       
    • CRYPTO CURRENCY
      
      Cryptocurrency prices plunged, with Ripple and Bitcoin Cash down more than 10% on Wednesday as Microsoft Bing joined Google and Facebook in banning crypto advertisements.

    • SINGAPORE
      
      Singapore’s exports rose sharply in April, beating expectations, thanks to a surge in pharmaceuticals sales, however, shipments of electronics goods, a source of trade strength for much of last year, continued their decline.

    • CHINA
      
      China launched its first privately developed rocket from a launchpad in northwestern China on Thursday, state media said, the latest milestone in the country’s ambitious space exploration program.

    • AUSTRALIA
      
       U.S. investment fund Harbour Energy formalised its $10.36 billion bid for Australia’s Santos Ltd on Thursday but failed to sweeten its offer, dashing hopes of a higher price and sending the oil and gas producer’s shares lower.

    • US
      
      The United Stated has demanded North Korea ship some nuclear warheads, an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and other nuclear material overseas within six months, the Asahi newspaper said on Thursday, citing several sources familiar with North Korean issues.

    • PAKISTAN
      
       Pakistan’s military has killed a senior member of Islamist militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi(LeJ) along two suicide bombers in a raid in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, the army’s media wing said on Thursday.

    • KENYA
      
      Kenya on Wednesday buried 41 people who were killed last week when a dam at a commercial farm broke its walls and unleashed water that swept away everything in its path.
       

    • MALYASIA
      
      Malaysia said it will introduce a sales and service tax (SST) to partly offset the shortfall in revenue from effectively scrapping a goods and service tax (GST) from June.