- Recap - Japan's core inflation rises to 2.9% but Bank of Japan expected to wait
- China Communist Party research office head expect China GDP to reach 140tln yuan this year
- China President Xi says we should strive to break through key core technologies
- Trump on the warpath against Canada again - says all trade talks cancelled
- Trump: All trade negotiations with Canada terminated (over an ad)
- Gold Technical Analysis After Intel's Post Earnings Rise
- Japan fin min: Ueda has emphasised importance of maintaining accommodative monetary policy
- Japan's Rengo union demands 5% pay hike for 2026 to beat inflation
- ICYMI - Australia's Sunrise energy deal with Lockheed Martin scandium deal
- China state planner says will implement some major investment projects
- China officials says must move faster to implement new development paradigm
- IMF warns Asia's resilience is at risk from a stronger US dollar
- Is Intel Stock a Buy After Its Full 9.1% Earnings Rise?
- ICYMI - JPMorgan says gold could double by 2028
- ICYMI - Chinese President Xi and US' Trump will meet on October 30
- South Korea seeks major US investment package amid tariff talks, smaller than US$350bn
- China needs fiscal push to fix trade war damage, says PBOC adviser
- PBOC sets USD/ CNY mid-point today at 7.0928 (vs. estimate at 7.1192)
- Japan finmin Katayama on the possibility of raising financial income tax
- Canada announces ‘significant’ reductions to import quotas of General Motors & Stellantis
- Japan preliminary manufacturing PMI (October) 48.3, 19 mth low (down from 48.5 September)
- RBA Governor Bullock makes no mention of interest rates or economy in speech on payments
- South Korea fin min: Will act swiftly if needed to stabilize financial markets
- AUD traders - Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Bullock speaking imminently (live link)
- Japan September headline inflation 2.9% y/y (expected 2.9%)
- Japan PM Takaichi arranging 1st phone talks with Trump for Saturday
- UK consumer confidence hits 14-month high but budget fears loom
- Aberdeen says December BoE rate cut more likely after inflation surprise
- Trump administration signals support for attacks on Russian energy, analyst warns
- Canada has slashed how many American vehicles Stellantis and GM can import tariff-free
- Australia flash manufacturing PMI (October) drops to 49.7 (from 51.4 in September)
- UBS Sees EUR/CHF rising to 0.94 as the probability of SNB intervention gains
- Goldman Sachs Stands by $4,900 Gold Forecast Despite 6% Price Dip
- investingLive Americas FX news wrap 23 Oct: Stocks/yields higher/USD lower. CPI tomorrow.
- China and US start fifth round of trade talks in Malaysia today to prep for APEC
After the US close, President Trump was reported as saying “Will be seeing land action in Venezuela soon.” There wasn’t much media follow-up, but such a remark could be highly consequential if it signals plans to deploy US troops. Keep an eye out for knee-jerk flows into safe-haven assets should that materialise.
The data focus of the session was Japan’s September CPI, which once again came in well above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target across all measures:
• Headline inflation 2.9% y/y
• CPI ex-fresh food 2.9% y/y
• CPI ex-food, energy 3.0% y/y
• Service-sector prices +1.4% y/y
• Goods prices +4.2% y/y
The persistent gap between goods and services inflation remains the key soft spot. Service-sector inflation continues to lag far behind, suggesting firms are still only gradually passing on higher labour costs — a crucial prerequisite for the BOJ to resume its rate-hike cycle. The yen weakened through the session after the release.
From China, a barrage of supportive remarks landed today. Various officials pledged further measures to bolster the economy and domestic consumption, a core policy goal. Notably, the state planner (NDRC) said several major investment projects will be auctioned, including new urban infrastructure in underground pipeline networks worth more than 5 trillion yuan.
The Canadian dollar was also active. Late Thursday, Trump said he was terminating trade negotiations with Canada, accusing the country of airing an advertisement that misrepresented Ronald Reagan’s stance on tariffs. In reality, the ad quoted Reagan verbatim from a 1987 speech warning that “over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer.” Earlier in the session, Canada had slashed how many US vehicles Stellantis and GM can import tariff-free — another irritant for Washington, though Trump didn’t mention it in his reasoning.
Apart from FX already mentioned the USD was mainly range bound ahead of the CPI data due later (8.30am US Eastern time).
Asia-Pac stocks:
- Japan (Nikkei 225) +1.58%
- Hong Kong (Hang Seng) +0.54%
- Shanghai Composite +0.48%
- Australia (S&P/ASX 200) -0.08%
