Forex news for Asia trading Wednesday 18 November 2015

  • China October railway cargo volume down 16.3% y/y
  • Reports of 'heavy gunfire' in northern suburbs of Paris
  • Australian assets to be sold on yuan inclusion in IMF's SDR?
  • China President Xi: China economy still in reasonable range
  • 2 Air France flights diverted - no injuries reported
  • BOJ showing clear signs of deflation - no room for doubt on this
  • BOJ critic says inflation to hit 2% much sooner than expected, USD/JPY to 200
  • How to “Trade What’s In front of You”
  • AUD tipping a little lower - technical analysis
  • Former Fed head Greenspan - Emerging mkts are in very serious trouble
  • China October Property Prices: All China new home prices +0.1% y/y
  • PBOC sets USD/CNY mid-point today at 6.3796
  • PIMCO on inflation: 'Wage pressures may finally be building'
  • Australia data - Wage Price Index for Q3: 0.6% q/q (expected +0.6%)
  • Preview of the Federal Reserve FOMC Minutes due Wednesday
  • BOJ monetary policy announcement due Thursday - preview
  • Australia - Westpac Leading Index for October: +0.1% m/m (prior was +0.1%)
  • Australia - Conference Board Leading Index for September -0.1% m/m
  • RBA Debelle: No excuse not to be prepared for a Fed rate rise
  • The BOJ meet today and tomorrow ... and their doing an AMA! (Well, sorta)
  • Westpac lowers Fonterra payout forecast to NZ$4.50/kg
  • Which rock star is RBA Governor Stevens most like?
  • RBA Debelle comments ... nothing on AUD, eco outlook or monetary policy as yet
  • Australian Treasurer Morrison: Optimistic on future despite economic headwinds
  • American Petroleum Institute (API) crude oil inventories down 482K bbls
  • Gundlach says 64% chance of Fed hike in December is about right

The session kicked off with an unexpected inventory drop reported by the weekly American Petroleum Institute data release. The oil price gained on the news and has not done too much since. EIA data is scheduled for Wednesday morning in the US, where a stockpile build is the consensus expectation.

Across FX moves were generally limited, with a few notable nonetheless.

The CHF was a loser; USD/CHF traded sideways for a good part of the Asian morning before steadily gaining back toward the US high. EUR/CHF followed a very similar pattern, despite a slight drift lower for EUR against the USD (also back toward its US extreme). There has been no clear catalyst reveal itself as yet to cite for the CHF move.

USD/JPY traded sideways and then lower as the session progressed. The range has not been large, though; its currently at the day's low near 123.30, down 15 or so points only from the session high (and ticking under 30 as I update).

Breaking news of heavy gunfire in the northern suburbs of Paris is seeing a bid creep in for the yen and CHF. This follows slightly earlier reports of two Air France flights being the subject of bomb threats and having to divert. Both planes landed and disembarked passengers safely.

Further commodity market weakness weighed again during Asia, and the AUD responded today with a drip-feed move lower; its down near 30 points from early highs and on session lows as I update.

Regional equities with Shanghai closed for the lunch break:

  • Shanghai +0.17%
  • Nikkei +0.25%
  • HK +0.10%
  • ASX +0.47%

Still to come:

  • Preview of the Federal Reserve FOMC Minutes due Wednesday
  • BOJ monetary policy announcement due Thursday - preview