Forex news for Asia trading Wednesday 13 July 2016
- Japan PM Abe adviser Hamada says helicopter money a risky gamble
- More from Fed's Mester: Fed not behind the curve, gradual path appropriate
- Fitch says policy uncertainty in Australia has risen after the election
- China's Premier Li says China maintained sound economic growth in Q2
- China commerce minister: Have sped up negotiations on China EU investment deal
- Fed's Mester: Gradual rate hikes appropriate
- Japan spokesman says its not true that govt is considering helicopter money
- China is firm in upholding its sovereignty over Sth China Sea islands - white paper
- China trade balance due today ... normally pretty soon
- People’s Bank of China sets yuan reference rate at 6.6891 (vs. yesterday at 6.6950)
- Westpac on the RBA - still expecting a cut in August, RBA concerns on AUD
- RBNZ's McDermott speaks on decision making at the bank
- Australia - Westpac Consumer Confidence Index for July: -3.0% m/m (prior -1.0%)
- China’s President Xi says "No" to Beatles. Well, this one anyway.
- "Australian political woes put kiwi dollar parity with Aussie in view"
- DoubleLine Capital's Jeff Gundlach says where there is 'big money' to be made next
- Fed's Kashkari comments earlier - wrap
- NZ data - Food prices for June: +0.4% m/m (prior -0.5%)
- Japan press reports government considering 'helicopter money' policy
- Fed's Kashkari: We should take our time on raising rates
- Trade ideas thread - Wednesday 13 July 2016
- Oil - private inventory data shows a surprise build
USD/JPY lost ground today, declining from around 104.80s highs down to 104.00 before bouncing for a 50% or so recovery as I update. While hopes for more stimulus (fiscal, monetary and perhaps helicopter - more on that in a moment) continue to bounce around markets some USD/JPY sellers were motivated by thoughts that there may not be as much, or as soon, as expected. Further to the caution, comments from Japan today (from Japan chief cabinet secretary Suga and an adviser to PM Abe Koichi Honda specifically) that the government is not considering helicopter money policy despite rumours flying after Ben Bernanke met with BOJ Governor Kuroda and PM Abe earlier this week.
What form the next round of Japanese monetary policy take remains to be seen, but markets don't hang around waiting for i's to be dotted and t's crossed, speculation will continue.
EUR/USD is little changed on the session, ditto for USD/CHF. Cable has managed a net 60 point odd gain for the session after circa a big figure range for the day here. There was little in the way of fresh news from the UK.
AUD and NZD lost ground but both had small ranges and were not where the action was today. Australian consumer confidence data (June) showed a fall.
Gold dipped early to under 1328 and then popped to just above 1340 and is currently slightly up on the session. Oil dropped on inventory data late in the US afternoon showed a surprise build 9official data hits Wednesday morning US time)
Regional equities:
- Nikkei +1.28%
- Shanghai +0.36%
- HK +0.52%
- ASX +0.43%
Still to come: China June trade balance data is expected around 0700GMT
