Global FX DATA:

• • • ASIAN MARKET
      
       Asian equities were under pressured in morning trade on Thursday as the threat of imminent U.S. military action in Syria caused concerns of heightened tension in the Middle East.
       
    • GOLD
      
      Gold prices eased off multi-week highs on Thursday as minutes from the Federal Reserves’s last policy meeting raised expectations for a faster pace of U.S. rate hikes.
       
  • • OIL
      
      Oil markets remained tense on Thursday on concerns over a military escalation in Syria, although prices remained some way off Wednesday’s highest since late 2014 as bulging American supplies weighed.
       
    • INDIA
      
      Security forces killed four civilians in a village in Kashmir on Wednesday when they opened fire on protesters pelting them with stones to stop an operation against suspected militants, senior police officials said.
       
    • DOLLAR
      
      The dollar struggled against the yen on Thursday as investors sought shelter in the safe-haven Japanese currency on concerns over the possibility of Western military action against Syria.
       
    • CRYPTO CURRENCY
      
      Bitcoin prices rose on Wednesday, along with other major cryptocurrencies, despite reports that Australia put crypto providers under direct purview under the country’s money-laundering watchdog.
       
    • NORTH KOREA
      
      North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly convened on Wednesday where state finances were discussed, North Korean state media reported on Thursday, while leader Kim Jong Un appeared to be absent from the proceedings.

    • SOUTH KOREA
      
      South Korea’s central bank held interest rates steady on Thursday, as expected, with inflation running more slowly than forecast and exports showing a modest improvement.

    • WORLD BANK
      
      The World Bank on Thursday raised its growth forecast for East Asia and Pacific for 2018, but it said the region’s economies may need to adopt tighter monetary policy and larger fiscal buffers to guard against short-term risks.

    • CHINA
      
       China will not hesitate to fight back if the United States escalates its trade spat with Beijing, the commerce ministry said on Thursday, asserting that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s pledge to cut import tariffs is not a concession to Washington.

    • WASHINGTON
      
       CIA Director Mike Pompeo will signal a harder line toward Moscow during his confirmation hearing on Thursday to become U.S. President Donald Trump’s new secretary of state, according to excerpts of his testimony.

    • INDONESIA
      
      Former Indonesian general Prabowo Subianto has accepted the endorsement of the main opposition party to stand as a candidate in a presidential election next year, setting the stage for a rematch with President Joko Widodo.