JPY up on Aso Comments, Quiet US Session on Snow Storm

ECB announced a 3^rd repayment round of LTRO-1, with €145 bn out of the total €489 bn-- € 5 bn to be repaid in Feb 13, €3.5 bn this week & €137 bn 2 wks ago. Better than expected Chinese figures did not prevent JPY surging following remarks from Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso stating “The yen's sudden move from 78 or 79 to 90 was not something we anticipated”. Market players are interpreting the comments as a type of intervention, which is far from the truth. The same applies for Draghi's comments yesterday. US trade is expected to be quiet ahead of the upcoming bilzzard in the NorthEast. The yen rally allowed 3 of our unfilled yen cross Premium trades to be filled. A new batch of Premium Insights is due within 90 mins from now.