Global FX DATA:

• • • ASIAN MARKET
      
      Asian share markets slipped into the red on Monday as caution gripped investors in a week in which the Federal Reserve is likely to hike U.S. interest rates and perhaps signal that as many as three more lie in store for the rest of the year.
       
    • GOLD
      
      Gold prices held steady as political tensions between the United Kingdom and Russia supported safe haven bids despite a firmer dollar, with markets also eyeing a possible U.S. rate hike next week.
       
  • • OIL
      
      Oil prices fell on Monday as increased drilling in the United States pointed to more output, raising concerns about a return of oversupply.Monday’s price falls in part reversed increases last Friday, which came on concerns over tensions in the Middle East.
       
    • INDIA
      
      India’s trade deficit narrowed to $12 billion in February, its lowest in five months, amid concern that a global trade war could hit its exports because of U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to hike import taxes on steel and aluminum.
       
    • DOLLAR
      
      The dollar held gains against a basket of peers, as recent concerns about the currency arising from trade tensions eased slightly and next week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting came into focus.
       
    • ISRAEL
      
      An Israeli security guard died of wounds he suffered in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday carried out by an assailant identified by Israel as a Palestinian.
       
    • PAKISTAN
      
      Five members of an Indian family were killed and two injured by shelling from Pakistani troops on Sunday along the Line of Control, the de facto border between India and Pakistan, according to army and police officials.

    • CHINA
      
      Liu He, a key economic adviser to China’s President Xi Jinping, was elected by parliament to be a vice premier, while vice central bank governor Yi Gang was chosen to take over the helm at the People’s Bank of China (PBOC).

    • US
      
      Worries about the potential for a U.S.-China trade war and frustration over U.S. President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs threatened to dominate a gathering of finance leaders this week amid strengthening growth.

    • AUSTRALIA
      
      The leaders of Australia and Singapore closed a regional summit on Sunday with a stand against against protectionism, arguing in favour of multi-nation trade deals as fears mount that U.S. plans for new tariffs could stoke a global trade war.

    • PHILLIPINE
      
      Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday called for other signatories of the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court (ICC) to join his country in withdrawing from the treaty.
       

    • TURKISH
      
      Turkish forces and their Syrian rebel allies swept into the northwestern Syrian town of Afrin on Sunday, raising their flags in the town centre and declaring full control after an eight-week campaign to drive out Kurdish YPG forces.
       

    • JAPAN
      
       Japan’s exports rose for a 15th straight month in February but slowed sharply from the prior month as shipments stalled because of Lunar New Year holidays - an event analysts dismissed as a one-off blip in the context of solid overseas demand.
       

    • NEW YORK
      
      Luke Thomas, 44, an information technology field manager who lives in Miami, began investing in the U.S. stock market in his early 20s, attracted by the prospect of learning “how to grow a little bit of money into a lot,” he said.