Another drip feed of positive newsflow from the push towards a Phase One trade agreement between the US and China has boosted market sentiment again. The discussion is turning to the potential for tariff removal, which would be a real boost for sentiment if agreed. The impact is coming through higher Treasury yields but also the continued steepening of the US yield curve (US 3 month/10 year spread is now at over +25bps and at eight month highs). This has helped the shift out of risk averse assets such as the Japanese yen, Swiss franc and gold. Subsequently we see flow into higher beta currencies, such as the Aussie, ... (full story)