US EURODLR OPTIONS: Put fly buyer

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt outlining regional spending projects in the Budget, and talking up

• Hunt: "For Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland this Budget delivers not only a new Investment Zone but an additional £320m for the Scottish Government, £180m for the Welsh Government and £130m for the Northern Ireland Executive as a result of Barnett consequentials."
• Hunt: "I can announce a second round of the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements, allocating £8.8 billion over the next five-year funding period."
• Hunt: "...after the corporation tax rise this April [...] Only 10% of companies will pay the full 25% rate. But even at 19% our corporation tax regime did not incentivise investment as effectively as countries with higher headline rates."
• Hunt: " If the super deduction was allowed to end without a replacement, we would have fallen down the international league tables for tax competitiveness and damaged growth. [...] we will introduce a new policy of “full expensing” for the next three years, with an intention to make it permanent as soon as we can responsibly do so. That means that every single pound a company invests in IT equipment, plant or machinery can be deducted in full and immediately from taxable profits. It is a corporation tax cut worth an average of £9 bn a year for every year it is in place. [...] The OBR says it will increase business investment by 3% for every year it is in place."

• RES 4: 143.71 20-day EMA
• RES 3: 142.95 50-day EMA
• RES 2: 142.15 Low Feb 24
• RES 1: 141.37 Low Mar 13
• PRICE: 140.03 @ 12:58 GMT Mar 15
• SUP 1: 139.56 Low Feb 10
• SUP 2: 139.06 Low Jan 20
• SUP 3: 137.92 Low Jan 19
• SUP 4: 137.39 Low Jan 3 and a key support

EURJPY remains offered as today’s selling pressure drags the cross through Monday’s low of 141.37. The breach of this key short-term support resumes the downleg that started Mar 2. The focus is on 140.00 and support at 139.56, the Feb 10 low. Clearance of 139.56 would signal scope for a move towards 137.92, the Jan 19 low. Initial firm resistance is seen at 142.15, the Feb 24 low.

After a lengthy passage talking up the policies of Conservative gov'ts over the past 13 years, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt moves on to military funding: "I am proud we are giving the brave people of Ukraine more military support than anyone else in Europe. On Monday we were able to go further with the Prime Minister announcing a £5bn package of funding for the Ministry of Defence, an additional £2bn next year and £3bn the year after."

• Hunt: "I confirm that we will add a total of £11 bn to our defence budget over the next five years and it will be nearly 2.25% of GDP by 2025. We were the first large European country to commit to 2% of GDP for defence and will raise that to 2.5% as soon as fiscal and economic circumstances allow."