Business

For the 18th month in a row, US Import prices fell YoY (down 6.1% vs expectations of a 6.5% drop). This is the longest deflationary streak since 1999. Under the hood we see the first first rise in prices (ex food, fuel) since May 2014. Fuel price dropped 3.9% - the 8th consecutive drop - and foreign food product prices dropped 2% - the most since Feb 2012.  Perhaps most crucially, China's forced deflationary wave continues to build with the index at its lowest since 2010.

Longest losing streak since 1999...

As can be seen by the violently volatile markets themselves, over the past 24 hours there has been substantial confusion about the implications of the ECB's "all in" gamble, with the initial kneejerk euphoria leading to a rapid selloff and surge in the USD, followed by an overnight levitation in all risk assets as virtually the entire ECB move has now been faded on both sides.

Still, much confusion remains as can be seen by the following three reactions by financial pundits, two of whom even work for the same company.

Just hours after Mario Draghi unveiled another €20 billion in monthly QE, bringing the total in "unconventional monetary policy" asset purchases to €80 billion per month, and entering the market for corporate bond purchases for the first time, the ECB released the text of an interview that was conducted with the Guardian on February 18, in which the central banker not only lamented youth unemployment but said he is "worried about increasing inequality."

Here are the selected excerpts:

• Shares bounce, euro fades after savage ECB reaction (Reuters)
• Trump's Islam comments draw attacks as Republicans discover civility (Reuters)
• IEA Says Oil Price May Have Bottomed as High-Cost Producers Cut (BBG)
• Oil Prices Rise on Hopes Glut Will Ease (WSJ)
• Why Euro-Area Inflation Will Be Low for Years, According to Draghi (BBG)
• Calmer markets, positive data prime Fed to push ahead with rate rises (Reuters)
• Key powers mulling possibility of federal division of Syria (Reuters)

In its latest monthly market report released early on Friday, the International Energy Agency forecast that oil prices may have bottomed as shrinking supplies outside OPEC and disruptions inside the group erode the global surplus. This comes just one month after it had a far gloomier assessment of oil prices, warned on excess supply, and asked if the market was witnessing a "false dawn."