ASIA MIXED, YIELD / OIL IN RANGE , DOLLAR DEFENSIVE

ECONOMY

On Tuesday Asian Indices inched up and safe-haven assets gave up some overnight gains, as investors paused for breath after a volatile Wall Street session, but deeper concerns about growth have capped broader improvements in risk sentiment.
Australia’s treasurer has told the heads of the country’s big four banks that the government wants them to pass on in full any cash rate cut by the central bank, media reported. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is widely expected to cut rates on Tuesday to a record low of 1.25% from 1.5% in what would mark the first rate change in nearly three years.
South Korea’s economy shrank more than initially estimated in the first quarter while core inflation slowed to a near 20-year low in May, data showed on Tuesday, adding to the case for the central bank to cut interest rates.
Japan and the United States will hold working-level talks on trade in the United States on June 10-11, Japan’s economy minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, said on Tuesday.
British shoppers cut back on their spending last month by the most in more than 20 years, a retailers’ group said, raising questions about how long consumers can keep on cushioning the economy from the impact of Brexit.
Mexico’s Economy Minister Graciela Marquez said on Monday that the tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to place on Mexican exports would impact all 50 U.S. states and harm value chains, consumers and trade-related jobs in both nations.

The 10-year Treasury note yield +1.03% slipped 5.4 basis points to 2.085%, carving out a fresh 21-month closing low.
While the 2-year note yield +1.48% tumbled 8.9 basis points to 1.848%, its lowest since Dec. 2017.
The 30-year bond yield +0.52% fell 2.7 basis points to 2.550%, its lowest since Oct. 2016. Debt prices move inversely to yields.

The dollar was on the defensive after taking a beating against peers such as the euro and yen, hurt by a sharp slide in U.S. Treasury yields as traders raised their bets for a near-term rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
The dollar traded 107.90 yen after brushing 107.885 overnight, its lowest since early January.
The euro nudged up 0.1% to $1.1250 after rallying roughly 0.7% overnight to $1.1262, its highest since May 13.
The Australian dollar was a shade lower at $0.6966 after climbing to a three-week peak of $0.6983 the previous day in the wake of the broadly weaker greenback.
The pound was flat at $1.2665, having crawled off a five-month trough of $1.2560 set on Friday thanks to the dollar’s under-performance.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday amid a global economic slowdown that is starting to hit oil demand, triggering calls in producer club OPEC for supply cuts to be extended.
Front-month Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $61.33 . That was 54 cents, or 0.84%, up last session’s close.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $53.38 per barrel, up 13 cents, or 0.24%.
Crude oil futures are now around 20% below their 2018 peaks reached in late April.