EU-RUSSIA: Putin To Scholz: Kyiv Trying To Stall Peace Negotiations
Russia's state-run RIA reporting that President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
- Putin said to have told Scholz that Kyiv is trying to stall peace negotiations, and that the Zelensky gov't is making 'unrealistic proposals'. Did say that Russia would be willing to continue talks, though.
- Putin said to have told Scholz that 'Russia is looking for solutions in line with its main strategy'.
- So far, talks between Putin and European leaders have proved relatively fruitless in terms of outcome. Russia has sought to criticise European states and the EU less than the United States, but given EU's vociferous support for Ukraine, any of its members are unlikely to be viewed as acceptable interlocutors by Moscow.
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ESM ISSUANCE: 0% Dec-26 syndicated tap: Books closed
- Spread set earlier at MS-20bps (guidance was MS-17bps area)
- Size: E2.0bln WNG
- Books over E37bln excl. JLMs
- ISIN: EU000A1Z99N4
- JLM: BofA Securities (B&D), Commerzbank and Morgan Stanley
- Books are now closed. Allocations will follow later today
EURJPY TECHS: Extending Bounce
- RES 4: 134.14 3.0% Upper Bollinger Band
- RES 3: 133.48/82 High Oct 20 and key resistance / 2.0% 10-dma env
- RES 2: 133.15 High Feb 10
- RES 1: 131.52/54 50.0% retracement of Friday’s range / High Feb 15
- PRICE: 131.67 @ 09:12 GMT Feb 16
- SUP 1: 130.05 Low Feb 14
- SUP 2: 129.41 76.4% retracement of the Jan 25 - Feb 10 rally
- SUP 3: 129.19 Low Feb 3
- SUP 4: 128.25 Low Jan 25 and a key short-term support
EURJPY has extended the bounce off recent lows, chewing further through the downtick posted on Friday. The bull trigger remains at 133.15, Feb 10 high, meaning rallies will target this level before shifting sights to 133.48 and above. To the downside, a key support zone is seen at 130.65-20 marking the area between the 20- and 50-day EMAs. The lower level has been probed and Monday’s low is also seen as a key short-term support - at 130.05.
EU: VdL To Come Under Pressure To Sanction HU & PL On Rule Of Law
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is set to come under increasing pressure in the weeks and months ahead to impose financial and legal penalties on the gov'ts of Hungary and Poland for breaches of the EU's rule of law standards. This comes after an ECJ ruling released this morning stated that the EU can cut structural funding to nations experiencing issues with their rule of law standards.
- For a number of years, the actions of the gov'ts in Budapest and Warsaw have come in for criticism for alleged breaches of EU rule of law standards relating to issues such as judicial independence and media freedoms.
- MEPs from the centre and left of the political spectrum are likely to seek to pressure von der Leyen to hit both gov'ts with sizeable cuts to their structural funding budgets.
- However, there are concerns within some areas of EU leadership that hitting both gov'ts hard could have the opposite effect from intended insofar as the sanctions pushing both countries further away from the EU rather than bringing them back in line with liberal democratic values.
