NATO: Def Mins Meet For Ukraine Talks w/Focus On Tomahawks & Air Defences
NATO defence ministers are meeting at the alliance's HQ in Brussels. Speaking on 14 Oct, US President Donald Trump raised again the potential sale of Tomahawk missiles, which could strike deep into Russia, to Kyiv. Trump hosts President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on 17 Oct, claiming “He would like to have Tomahawks...We have a lot of Tomahawks.” Russian President Vladimir Putin said the sale of Tomahawks, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and capable of reaching Moscow, would mark a “qualitatively new stage of escalation.” In order to fire the Tomahawks, the US would need to provide Ukraine with Typhon launchers.
- Regarding Russian aerial incursions, an aim of today's meeting is to get clarity on ‘national caveats’, which dictate how the Supreme Allied Commander Europe can respond to immediate threats using NATO troops from various countries.
- Secretary General Mark Rutte will hold a post meeting presser at 14:15CET (08:15ET, 13:15BST), livestream here.
- After a meeting of the ~50-nation Ukraine Defence Contact Group at 15:00CET, Ukrainian Minister of Defence Denys Shmyhal will hold a presser with Rutte at 17:00CET (11:00ET, 16:00BST) and then with the hosts of the UDCG, the British and German defence ministers, at 17:40CET.
- Finally, EU defence ministers will have an informal meeting at 19:00CET (13:00ET, 18:00BST), with the main topic of discussion being the EU's 'Readiness 2030' plans, which include the EUR150bln SAFE loans scheme to boost defence spending by member states.
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FOREX: Westpac Warn Of Sustained USD Decline
As noted elsewhere, this morning’s bid in European benchmark equity indices seems to be applying pressure to the broader USD.
- Westpac have warned that the USD is at risk of a sustained decline, with particular focus on inflation risks limiting the Fed’s cutting cycle and prolonging a weaker economic growth profile in the U.S. (along with ongoing fiscal uncertainty).
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E-minis tick lower as BBG headlines note that China’s preliminary probe found that Nvidia violated the country’s anti-monopoly laws, with the Chinese regulators set to conduct a further probe of Nvidia’s behaviour. The NASDAQ 100 contract is understandably under the most pressure, last trading little changed on the day, a little over 50 points off session highs.
EURIBOR: A big Jump in Volume in the March 2026
- A Huge jump in the ERH6 volume this Morning, but this all due to the ESTR/ERH6 spread.
- This has traded in circa 30.5k around 30 minutes ago, and a total of 98k spread have traded today.
