May 2nd, 2008

KRW: Hedge fund buying pushed to 1014, no onshore shortage of USD
Gold fell through 850.
Thailand in talks with Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar to start a rice cartel, but not like OPEC

Markets were positive overnight as Asian markets were positive across the board ahead of NFP. Asian currencies continue to weaken against the USD but we're seeing this more of a reaction to USD strength as opposed to Asia weakeness, as USDJPY continues its upward climb. The NFP only strengthened the sentiment of the past week as it was much stronger than expected and markets reacted accordingly. EURUSD broke through 1.5400 with USDZAR, USDTRY, and USDBRL all collapsing. The followthrough was not significant however as stocks tailed off and ended the day mildly positive and most EM ccy pairs ended the day near the NY opening levels.