ASIA WEAK, BONDS SHINE, DOLLAR ADVANCE , OIL WEAKER IN RANGE

ECONOMY

On Thursday, Asian indices tracked Wall Street losses as rhetoric from Beijing and Washington over trade matters kept alive investor concerns about the tariff war’s impact on global economic growth. The risk aversion propped up global safe-haven assets such as government bonds, with yields on German benchmark debt approaching record lows.
The dispute between the world’s two largest economies showed few signs of abating, with Chinese newspapers reporting that Beijing could use rare earths to strike back at Washington after U.S. President Donald Trump remarked he was “not yet ready” to make a deal with China over trade.
The upcoming G20 summit could be the table of begin negotiation between USA - CHINA, can give some relief to market. The G20 meeting is set for June 28-29 in Japan.
The European Commission wrote on Wednesday to the Italian government asking it to explain a deterioration in the country's public finances, a move that sets the stage for a possible legal clash with the eurosceptic coalition in Rome.
Trade worries have weighed on oil but supply constraints linked to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ output cuts and political tensions in the Middle East have offered some support.

The 10-year US Treasury note yield slipped 3 basis points to 2.238%, its lowest since Sep. 26. The 2-year note yield fell 5 basis points to 2.079%, its lowest since Feb. 2018, while the 30-year bond yield slipped 3.4 basis points to 2.673%, its lowest since Nov. 2016. Debt prices move in the opposite direction of yields.
Germany’s 10-year bond yield fell to a three-year trough of minus 0.179% overnight. A drop below minus 0.200% set in 2016 would take the yield to a record low.
Spanish and Portuguese 10-year yields fell to record lows as deeply negative German Bund yields have encouraged investors to look elsewhere for returns.

South Korea’s foreign exchange authorities were suspected to have sold dollars to curb weakness in the won on Thursday morning, several dealers told Reuters. The won started gaining shortly after the market opened, hitting a high of 1,189.4 per dollar from 1,194.0 in onshore trading.
The dollar held steady against its key rivals on Thursday as escalating Sino-U.S. trade tensions forced investors to take shelter in safe-haven assets, including government bonds.
The euro was a shade higher at $1.1143, pulling back slightly following three successive days of losses.
The dollar was little changed at 109.58 yen after bouncing back from a two-week low of 109.150 brushed on Wednesday.

Oil prices climbed on Thursday after an industry report showed a decline in U.S. crude inventories that exceeded analyst expectations.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 19 cents, or 0.3%, at $59 a barrel . They closed down 0.6% on Wednesday after hitting their lowest since March 12 at $56.88.
Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were up 3 cents at $69.48 a barrel. They fell nearly 1% in the previous session after recouping losses that saw them drop as far as $68.08.