Forex and Bitcoin news for Asia trading Wednesday July 4 2018
- EU considering talks with world’s big car exporters to prevent all-out trade war with US
- US heat wave so extreme its slowing down high speed traders
- UK Police ‘unknown substance’ incident near earlier Russian attack site
- PBOC intervention in the yuan still making the news
- China June Caixin / Markit services PMI: 53.9 (prior 52.9) and composite 53.0 (52.7)
- BOJ's Harada: No sign of imbalance in financial markets
- Australia May Retail sales: +0.4% m/m (vs. expected +0.3%)
- Australia trade balance for May: AUD +827m (vs. surplus of AUD1200m expected)
- PBOC sets USD/ CNY mid-point today at 6.6595 (vs. yesterday at 6.6497)
- New Zealand data: ANZ commodity price index for June: -1.0% (prior +1.5%)
- Japan June Nikkei / Markit services PMI: 51.4 (prior 51.0) and composite 52.1 (prior 51.7)
- Currency forecasts from BMO - EUR/USD, USD/JPY and for USD/CAD
- UK data - BRC shop price index for June: -0.5% y/y (prior -1.1% y/y)
- CBA / Markit Service Purchasing Managers Index for June: 52.7 (prior 55.9)
- Australia services PMI for June up 4 points to a record high of 63.0
- New Zealand data - Job ads down 1.6% m/m and rise 2.9%
- IMF comments on New Zealand - notes economy risks are tilted to downside
- Trade ideas thread - Wednesday 4 July 2018 (No holiday for you!)
- US vehicle sales data: 17.47mln in June (vs. 16.91mln in May)
- Private survey oil data shows bigger than expected draw in headline crude inventories
Heading into the US holiday Asia FX was thinner in liquidity but outdid itself for ranges. OK, they weren't large, but they were more than what we see a lot of the time in the timezone. And on a session where was fresh news flow was light indeed.
We did get data, though, most notably from Australia where the trade balance showed record high exports (+4% m/m) and imports (+3% m/m) combined with a beat on retail sales (+0.4% m/m vs. expected +0.3%). While exports and imports grew, the trade balance did come in at a smaller surplus than expected.
We did get other data points through the session (see bullets above), with services PMIs (Australia, China, Japan) and also terms of trade indications (for exports anyway) from NZ.
The yen was an early gainer here, USD/JPY from around 110.55-odd down to circa 110.30 lows before stabilising around 110.40 as I update. EUR, AUD, NZD, CAD, GBP, CHF all showed a little strength against the big dollar also, to varying extents.
And so to China and the PBOC and the RMB, yuan, CNY, CNH (how many names can this thing have???). The central bank cut the price if the onshore yuan (CNY) again today against the USD at the mid-rate setting. Nevertheless the PBOC jawboning/intervention to support the currency on Tuesday reverberated in markets again here today, the offshore yuan strengthening. The PBOC is not transparent, speculation persists 6.7 (or thereabouts) will top out the USD/CNY, but we await developments.
Still to come:
