Forex News
Headline Oz jobs look strong – but are they really that good?
The surprisingly strong Australian jobs report in March led many to anticipate a mean-reverting softer number in April, but it was not to be. On the headline, Australia added 15.5k jobs in the month, well above consensus of -5.0k, and the unemployment rate dipped to 4.9 percent, the lowest in a year. But drilling down […]
In Asian session, EURUSD back to Monday lows, despite German data
The Asian session traded with a general risk-off feel to it with commodity-bloc currencies, and the EUR to a lesser extent, extending their recent bout of weakness. There were no major data releases to influence so it was equity markets that drove direction.
Oz trade balance deteriorates, wiping the smile off the AUD
No doubt most Asian short EUR positions were wiped out yesterday as the single currency staged a dramatic comeback from its early post-election sell-off. There were no real drivers for the rebound though reports of reserve diversification by central banks did the rounds while encouraging words for Greece from EU members may also have helped.
Weekend EU election results pile pressure on the EUR
The election results from France and Greece over the weekend resulted in a weak start for the EUR as business got underway this morning. Versus the USD, the EUR opened at 1.3030, some 30 points below Friday’s NY close, but was quickly under more pressure and fell through the key 1.30 mark shortly thereafter. Whereas […]
RBA lowers growth/inflation forecasts but AUD doesn’t react
The Reserve Bank of Australia lowered its growth and inflation forecasts in its Monetary Policy statement Friday but the Aussie dollar’s reaction was muted. Indeed, the content of the RBA’s quarterly Monetary Policy Statement was broadly similar to the post-meeting statement.
ECB: Primary objective remains maintaining price stability
KEY ECB INTEREST RATES: * Unanimous decision to keep policy interest rates unchanged, as widely expected. * No discussion about cutting rates * Monetary policy stance accommodative
AUD pressured as services PMI suggests Oz economy deteriorating
With risk appetite already in the dumps following the overnight release of disappointing data out of both Europe and the US, early data from New Zealand and Australia did nothing to help the mood.
Market remembers how it is supposed to react to bad news
A string of awful European PMI’s today has the market in a lousy mood and the USD back on top where it belongs. Let’s see if the next couple of days accelerate the move or keep us tied up in range purgatory.
Currencies in a holding pattern; China’s “other” PMI contracts
Having seen the mildly bullish official China manufacturing PMI data yesterday, it was the turn of the HSBC equivalent today. A similar trend was displayed with the index rising to 49.3 in April compared to 48.3 in March (official PMI was 53.3).
RBA delivers a 50bp cut, more than the majority had expected
Mayday holidays impacted activity in Asia but we had enough economic events on the agenda to keep us busy. Most importantly, the RBA slashed the Cash Rate Target by 50bp to 3.75 percent, a sharper move than the market had been expecting with only a 30 percent chance of the larger cut priced in beforehand.
Calm Asian markets, one eye on the RBA (and holidays!) tomorrow
It was a quiet start in Asia to what will be a busy week, with holidays in Japan and China impacting activity. Currencies were range-bound and barely changed from Friday’s New York closing levels.
JPY Analysis
Opened in early Europe at Y81.16 and Y107.34, USD/JPY opened in Asia at Y81.34 and lifted to Y81.42 but the rate stalled with exporter supply capping moves. USD then slipped to Y81.30 and extended losses to Y81.11 with crosses leading the charge lower.