Global FX DATA:

• • • ASIAN MARKET
      
      Asian equities fell in morning trade on Thursday as investors took their cues from overnight U.S. shares after retail sales figures came in weaker than expected. Prospects of trade war concerns also continued to weigh as U.S. president Donald Trump reportedly planned to impose fresh tariffs on China, intensifying concerns of a global trade war while traders await next week’s rate decision by the Federal Reserve.
       
    • GOLD
      
      Gold prices were largely steady on a weaker dollar following U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s sudden dismissal and after consumer price data pointed towards a path of gradual hikes in U.S. interest rates.
       
  • • OIL
      
      Oil prices held steady on Thursday, supported by healthy global demand but capped by the relentless rise in U.S. production that is undermining efforts led by producer cartel OPEC to cut supplies and prop up markets.
       
    • INDIA
      
      The Reserve Bank of India’s move to cut off a key form of trade finance in the aftermath of a multi-billion dollar fraud could both dent the rupee and sharply raise costs for many importers
       
    • DOLLAR
      
      The dollar touched a one-week low against the yen on Thursday, as lingering worries about global trade tensions weighed on investors’ risk appetite.Market participants remain concerned about increased protectionism under U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, with U.S. equities having fallen on Wednesday after Trump sought to impose fresh tariffs on China.
       
    • CHINA
      
      China’s President Xi Jinping offered encouragement for South Korea’s initiative to nurture peaceful engagement with North Korea, and Russia also expressed support.
       
    • NEW YORK
      
      Structural reforms could boost Puerto Rico’s economy by as much as 1.5 percent, but federal tax law changes on top of deadly hurricanes pose additional challenges, the executive director of the island’s financial oversight board said.

    • JAPAN
      
      Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday remained steadfast that he and his wife were not involved in a discount land-sale deal that has seen the opposition call for the resignation of key ally and Finance Minister Taro Aso.

    • US
      
      The United States launched a challenge to Indian export subsidies at the World Trade Organization on Wednesday, saying they hurt U.S. companies by letting Indian exporters sell goods more cheaply.

    • SOUTH KOREA
      
      South Korea’s central bank chief said on Thursday his re-appointment to lead the Bank of Korea for a second four-year term would not mean an automatic acceleration of policy tightening.

    • LONDON
      
      Britain is to kick out 23 Russian diplomats, the biggest such expulsion since the Cold War, over a chemical attack on a former Russian double agent in England that Prime Minister Theresa May blamed on Moscow, an assessment backed by the United States.
       

    • AUSTRALIA
      
      Commonwealth Bank of Australia Chief Executive Ian Narev knew that a system of financial incentives to reward mortgage brokers could hurt customers but failed to act, an inquiry into Australia’s financial sector heard on Thursday.