Forex and Bitcoin news for Asia trading Thursday 19 July 2018
Japan:
- BOJ 'tapers' again at the JGB auction
- Japan trade balance for June: Y 721.4bn (expected Y 531.2bn)
- Reuters July Tankan: Manufacturing +25 vs. +26 prior
Australia::
- Earlier today the NAB Q2 business survey - still strong business conditions
- Australian employment data - more
- Responses to the AUD data coming in, and a look at where the bids, offers are
- Responses coming in to the huge Australian jobs data beat: "booming jobs"
- Australia June Employment Change +50.9K, a huge beat
More:
- China SAFE: Need to assess impact on china's cross-border capital flows
- PBOC sets USD/ CNY central rate at 6.7066 (vs. yesterday at 6.6914)
- Confirmed: You really should be careful of gaps (CHECK THIS OUT FOR A :-D )
- Goldman Sachs expects the RBNZ to hike in February 2019
- Dennis Gartman says an ‘exaggerated’ and ‘stunning’ rally could be on the way
- More on Trump confirming Russian meddling in 2016 Presidential US election
- Trade ideas thread - Thursday 19 July 2018
The devaluation of the RMB continues, its starting to look more and more like 2015. The PBOC set the onshore reference rate above 6.7 today, SAFE followed up with comments not expressing too much concern at all on the currency; and traders took that as a cue to invite the CNH to the woodshed.
You know what happens next. Offshore yuan was smacked much lower, as I update USD/CNH has cracked above 6.77 (and by the time I get the chart in its back under...). The PBOC set the onshore rate each day and on the face of it (to me at least) this is a clear devaluation policy in action. The effect of a lower yuan (not just against the USD, either, the yuan against its 'basket' has been falling also) is to push up prices of goods brought into China. The PBOC response could well be read as a response to Trump's tariffs and threats of more (I am reading it that way anyway).
This ain't over, not by a long shot.
So far today, no angry tweets from you know who. 'Risk' has thus shrugged off the yuan move. How much longer can that go on?
Other news. The biggie was the Australian employment report, which came in at a huge, huge beat on expectations for jobs growth. AUD/USD was marked higher by around half a big figure and since then has been subdued. We await UK time zone for a bigger response.
Also today was some news and data from Japan. Trade data showed a miss on estimates for exports (and imports). Exports actually declined m/m.
Also from Japan, the Bank of Japan 'tapered' their JGB purchases (see bullets above) again today. Yen movement has been subdued. USD/JPY is down 15-odd points for the session.
EUR, CHF, GBP, CAD, even NZD; all quietly range bound.
Still to come:
