Global FX DATA:

• • • ASIAN MARKET
      
      Asian shares edged higher on Friday, after U.S. equities were buoyed by solid quarterly earnings and a rebound in technology stocks, while the euro languished near three-month lows after the European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged.
       
    • GOLD
      
      Gold prices slid on Friday morning as the dollar slipped along with the 10-year U.S. treasury yields that retreated to below the 3% mark.
       
  • • OIL
      
       Oil prices edged lower on Friday, but Brent largely held its gains from the previous session amid concerns that Iran may face renewed sanctions, choking off supply.
       
    • INDIA
      
      India has constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and by some measures the biggest and most diverse media industry in the world. But journalists here say they are increasingly facing intimidation aimed at stopping them from running stories critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his administration.
       
    • DOLLAR
      
      The dollar held near a 3-1/2-month high against a basket of currencies on Friday as higher U.S. yields have prompted unwinding of big short positions in the currency while the euro was hampered by a dovish tone from the European Central Bank.
       
    • CRYPTO CURRENCY
      
       Cryptocurrency prices rose on Friday morning in Asia. Reports that the defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt Gox sparked concerns of an imminent price crash gathered some attention. Meanwhile, a hedge fund CEO voiced his optimism for the digital tokens.

    • CHINA
      
      Profits at Chinese industrial firms rose 3.1 percent year-on-year in March, slowing significantly from the pace of the first two months of the year and adding to signs of cooling growth in the world’s second largest economy.

    • BRITAIN
      
      U.S. President Donald Trump will travel to Britain in July for a working visit with Prime Minister Theresa May, after months of back-and-forth over when the U.S. president would visit what traditionally has been the United States’ closest ally.

    • MEXICO
      
      A deal on a new North American Free Trade Agreement is close at hand but talks to arrive at a finishing point are not easy, top Mexican officials said on Thursday as ministers met in Washington for a third successive day.

    • SINGAPORE
      
      Singapore confirmed its biggest quarterly jump in private home prices in nearly eight years on Friday, a 3.9 percent jump that beat an earlier estimate of 3.1 percent and pointed to a recovery.

    • JAPAN
      
       The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady on Friday and removed a phrase on the timeframe for achieving its 2 percent inflation target, suggesting it is no rush to reach its elusive price goal with the economy in good shape.
       

    • US
      
      The U.S. Senate confirmed Mike Pompeo as President Donald Trump’s secretary of state on Thursday, and the former CIA director set off immediately on a trip to meet key allies in Europe and the Middle East.