A massive surge in US equities flowed through into Asian and European markets and was followed up with further gains in US markets overnight. Two consecutive days of big gains in equities was accompanied by cooling bond yields and the US Dollar. The EUR surged to 1.1620, while the GBP broke above 1.3300. Trump signalled the war may be over in two to three weeks and that the Iranian President had requested a ceasefire. The war continues, but the prospect of peace in April, was enough to trigger an explosion in market confidence.The US Dollar safety flows reversed and triggered big gains in commodity currencies. The AUD leapt to 0.6950, while the NZD pushed back up towards 0.5800. The oil price slipped lower and dipped below US$100pb, reflecting the return of confidence to markets. This is a chaotic time and circumstances change in hours, but it appears to be headed in the direction of conflict resolution this month.
