Forex and Bitcoin news for Asia trading Thursday 4 October 2018
- Bank teller foils half billion USD robbery (yes, really)
- Responses to the Australian trade surplus data earlier
- US VP Pence on China - 'We will not be intimidated'
- Some dates on the Italian budget to note in the diary
- Australia trade balance for August: AUD +1604mln (vs. expected AUD +1450mln)
- PIMCO warn on Australia ratings - probability of banks downgrades higher than before
- A quickie on the AUD/USD, target level for shorts
- JPMorgan is expecting to see a ‘Full-Blown Trade War’
- China holidays continue (all week) but its not helping the yuan - CNH slides further
- More upside for the USD, more downside for the EUR say FX strategists
- Here's a trade idea that's at a discount
- BOJ action today? 'Japan 10yr yield hits 0.145% level that spurred BOJ buying'
- Moody's on their stable outlook for New Zealand's banking system
- Britain says Russian military intelligence behind host of global cyber attacks
- Australia data: September CBA services PMI 52.2 (prior 51.8), Composite 52.5 (prior 52.0)
- Goldman Sachs on Powell, FOMC. 3 lessons point to risk of more than 5 hikes to come.
- Here is a contrary view (to buy EUR/USD)
- Powell's comments giving the USD a little nudge higher
It was early in the Asia morning when Fed Chair Powell spoke. In a nutshell, very hawkish:
- Rates are still accommodative
- Rates are a long way from neutral
- Rates will go past neutral
If he had have asked, 'Am I being clear?' the only possible answer could have been 'Crystal'. The USD had been on the up ever since Europe opened its eyes on Wednesday, and then through US trade. Powell's comments were enough to give it another toe higher.
EUR/USD dropped under 1.15 and extended to under 1.1470 before stabilising a little.
AUD, GBP, NZD, CAD - all fell with Powell's comments also. GBP/USD hit stops just under 1.2970 and got sold down a quick 30-odd points.
USD/JPY benefitted, up above 114.50. Its since come lower though (other currencies not too much changed). The yen seemed to benefit from an early preview of US VP Pence speech tomorrow which will not be gentle on China. Pence says China's actions are worse than Russia, more in the bullet (bolded) above.
Apart from Powell and Pence news and data was non impactful.
Local equity markets in Asia were generally a little weaker, overnight US markets on the soft side indeed following a hawkish Powell.
Still to come:
