Is Yuan the new petrodollar? After consideration by Saudi Arabia to accept yuan for oil and Russia to use yuan as a reserve currency, China has completed its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade settled in yuan with French energy company TotalEnergies and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). The deal involved roughly 65,000 metric tonnes of LNG imported from the UAE. Chinese President Xi Jinping has been advocating for the yuan's increased relevance in the global markets and for the Shanghai Petroleum and National Gas Exchanges to be used as a platform to carry out yuan settlement of oil and gas trades. The yuan currently accounts for just 2.7% of the market, compared to the US dollar's share of 41%. It is on the rise, but analysts do not see it replacing the mighty dollar anytime soon.

EQUITY

US stocks rose by at least 1% on Wednesday, mainly driven by the semiconductor sector, which saw Micron and Intel jump by more than 7%. Risk assets are back on the menu once the Fed opened the floodgates to a liquidity glut that saw its balance sheet expand, although no new money was printed.

GOLD

Gold as safer assets weaken as investors shift focus to more risky assets. The price's recent push to the $2000 level twice is deemed to be short covering activity derived from banking turmoil that loomed over for weeks and has just now subsided.

OIL

Oil recovered about half of its losses from early March before retreating as traders saw the uptick as too fast, although the EIA reported lower crude stockpiles and Russian production fell by 300,000 barrels. China's PMI data later today will determine activity in the region that greatly affects oil demand.

CURRENCY

The US dollar strengthened due to improved investor sentiment and hopes that central banks will focus on fighting inflation. Concerns about recent failures in the US financial sector have eased, leading to a rise in the dollar. The Japanese yen is weakening as it nears the end of its fiscal year.