• AUD/JPY has sensed selling pressure near 83.18 as sanctions on Russia may escalate further.
• Blinken-Lavrov meeting has been abandoned as Moscow’s arbitrariness.
• The risk-off impulse seems set to kick in again.

The AUD/JPY pair has witnessed some significant offers near Tuesday’s high of 83.18 as the uncertainty has shot up and the risk-off mood may underpin the safe-haven appeal. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has abandoned the meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as the former claims that Moscow has not stopped an invasion of Ukraine despite various sanctions threats and peace-making suggestions. Therefore, meeting with a Russian diplomat makes no sense anymore.

Moreover, the US will continue to impose sanctions on Russia alongside the aggression of Moscow on Ukraine.

Earlier, the Kremlin recognizes two regions of Ukraine: Donetsk and Luhansk as ‘independent’ and build troops over there to invade Ukraine. Separatist leaders adjoin Russia and have provided clean chit to establish military bases, which has spooked the market.

AUD/JPY, as a risk barometer, has performed strongly after hitting the lows of 82.14 on Tuesday but is likely to surrender gains amid the escalating geopolitical tensions further.

On Tuesday, Australia pulls its diplomats out of Ukraine on rising expectations of imminent strikes between Russia and Ukraine. Adding to that, the Australian administration has urged Australians to leave Ukraine.

Apart from the headlines of the Russia-Ukraine tussle and flood of sanctions on Moscow, the investors will focus on the quarterly and yearly Wage Price Index (WPI) from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday. While the Tokyo Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from the Statistics Bureau of Japan on Thursday will be keenly watched.