Forex news for Asia trading on Tuesday 31 August 2021
- Australian GDP data for Q2 due tomorrow - forecasts downgraded after export miss
- Plenty of economic data to come from the US Tuesday 31 August 2021
- Leader of Australia's second-largest population state Victoria says too early to exit lockdown ( ... d'uh)
- Australia Net Exports -1% for Q2
- Australia Private Sector Credit +0.7% m/m for July
- Australia Building Approvals for July -8.6% m/m (expected -5.0%)
- September 20 will bring the Canada election, results will take longer than normal
- PBOC sets USD/ CNY reference rate for today at 6.4671 (vs. yesterday at 6.4677)
- 1164 new daily COVID-19 cases for Sydney / NSW (Australia's largest population city and state)
- NZ August Business Confidence -14.2% (prior -3.8) Activity Outlook 19.2% (prior 26.3)
- China official PMIs for August: Manufacturing 50.1 (expected 50.1) & Services 47.5 (expected 52.0)
- NZD/USD spikes above 0.7000
- RBA monetary policy meeting next week - sneak peek preview
- Japan Industrial Production for July (preliminary): -1.5% m/m (expected -2.5%)
- Australia weekly consumer confidence 101.8 (prior 101.6)
- Japan Jobless (Unemployment) rate for July 2.8% (expected 2.9%)
- TD eye signs of a weakening global economy in China's PMIs due later today
- New Zealand Building Permits for July +2.1% m/m (prior 3.8%)
- Japan election date watch - October 17 eyed
- OPEC+ meets on Wednesday 31 August 2021 - preview
- Some members of US Congress want Fed Chair Powell sacked
- Trade ideas thread - Tuesday 31 August 2021
- Its official - Pentagon announces completion of U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan
- ECB's Holzmann says expects inflation to fall this year and the next
There was some weakness for the US dollar almost across the major FX board here in Asia but ranges remained small with the exception of NZD/USD which jumped to highs circa 0.7050 on a squeeze above 0.7010. The kiwi move came ahead of the much-watched ANZ business survey data which showed weaker results in the month (August) with the new COVID-19 outbreak and associated lockdown cited.
AUD/NZD was weak on the session, helped lower by a poor Q2 'net exports' data point from Australia. The 1% drop in net exports will weigh on Q2 GDP results that are due tomorrow (Wednesday 31 August 2021 at 0130 GMT) but as a counterpoint that should be noted imports were strong, indicative of improving domestic demand in the quarter. Government spending (consumption and investment) in Q2 were also solid. While Q2 data is 'stale', in the sense that renewed lockdowns in July in August, that persist for just under half of the Australian population (and with no end in sight), will ensure Q3 GDP will be negative, the Q2 data is a focus as it gives an idea of how strong the Australian economy was heading into Q3.
EUR/USD, GBP/USD, yen and gold all rose, while the USD did better against CAD.
The People's Bank of China added more liquidity again into the banking system today, perhaps encouraged in continuing its stimulus via the OMO path by the weak PMIs (see bullets above).
Bitcoin/USD dropped under USD47K at one stage on the session here.
Regional equities:
Japan's Nikkei +0.54%
China's Shanghai Composite -0.43% (CSI 300 Index lost circa 1.1%)
Hong Kong's Hang Seng -1.33%
