BRAZIL: MNI interviews former Brazilian Treasury Secretary

Bearish - call unwinds and vol sales: 

• -10,000 0QM5 97.00/97.50 call spds, 5.0 ref 96.51 (paper +50K yesterday)
• +12,000 0QJ5 96.25 puts, 0.5 ref 96.56
• -5,000 SFRM5 96.50 calls, 4.5 ref 95.92
• +5,000 SFRJ5 96.00 calls, 2.0 ref 95.92
• -10,000 0QM5 97.00/97.50 call spds, 5.5 ref 96.535
• -4,000 SRH7 96.50 straddles, 120 ref 96.52

• RES 4: 151.30 High Mar 3   
• RES 3: 150.16/151.21 50-day EMA / High Mar 28 and reversal trigger 
• RES 2: 148.74 20-day EMA
• RES 1: 148.18 Low Mar 20 
• PRICE: 144.86 @ 15:44 BST Apr 9
• SUP 1: 143.43 Low Oct 2 ‘24  
• SUP 2: 142.95 1.00 proj of the Feb 12 - Mar 11 - 28 price swing
• SUP 3: 141.65 Low Sep 30 ‘24 
• SUP 4: 141.00 1.236 proj of the Feb 12 - Mar 11 - 28 price swing

USDJPY is trading sharply lower Wednesday, resulting in a break of support at 144.56, the Apr 4 low and bear trigger. This confirms a resumption of the downtrend and maintains the price sequence of lower lows and lower highs. Note too that moving average studies are in a bear-mode position highlighting a dominant downtrend. Sights are on 142.95, a Fibonacci projection. Initial firm resistance to watch is 148.74, the 20-day EMA.        

US President Donald Trump's approval rating has continued to slide as the first surveys, based on data taken after Trump's April 2 'Liberation Day' tariff announcement, filter through to polling aggregators. 

• A new YouGov/Economist survey out today saw Trump's approval drop from net -3 to net -8 since last week's survey.
• Nate Silver notes: "...in the Silver Bulletin average, it looks like we’re starting to really see a post—tariff dip in Trump’s approval ratings. As of this morning, Trump has the lowest approval (46.1 percent) and highest disapproval (50.4 percent) of his second term."
• Trump's sliding approval rating adds another pressure point to Trump's hardline agenda, adding to a major period of market turbulence and increasingly vocal concerns from the Congressional Republican conference.
• A new survey from Ipsos found that, "roughly half of Americans say short-term economic pain is worth it to make the U.S. stronger in the long term (49%). This sentiment is significantly higher among Republicans (81%) compared to Democrats (23%) and independents (49%).”

Figure 1: Trump Approval Rating (SilverBulletin)