Forex news for Asia trading Friday 22 January 2016

  • China government to take direct approach to managing coal & steel capacity cuts, layoffs
  • Plunging oil prices - blame Canada (yeah, I'm lookin' at you AB)
  • UK's Osborne hitting the cocktails again - what he is going to say on Friday
  • See, the problem is, on China, that investors are overreacting, freaking out
  • Morgan Stanley say 2 rate cuts from RBA in 2016 - 'far from priced in'
  • China labour ministry says urban unemployment rate remained at 4.05% at end 2015
  • AUD/USD traders - Australian inflation due next week, what is expected
  • Japan data - Nikkei 'flash' manufacturing PMI (January): 52.4 (expected 52.8)
  • Japan confirms it has lifted sanctions in Iran
  • People’s Bank of China (PBOC) sets yuan reference rate at 6.5572
  • Goldman Sachs forecast EUR/USD to 0.95: "Downside is again compelling"
  • George Soros on China: "A hard landing is practically unavoidable"
  • GBP - Goldman Sachs anti-Brexit vote. They've put a huge cash bet on it.
  • Moody's has slashed its oil price forecasts
  • Technical analysis from Soc Gen - EUR/USD, GBP/USD
  • ICYMI - Saudi Arabia says $30 oil is ‘irrational’
  • Boeing to reduce 747 production rate, take a $569 million after-tax charge
  • Trade ideas thread for Friday 22 January 2016
  • US stocks end the day higher. Nasdaq lags.
  • Nikkei reports BOJ is considering additional easing

The 'More BOJ easing coming' story just won't go away - the Nikkei carried a story early in the Tokyo morning, saying the BOJ "is taking a serious look at expanding its monetary easing measures". The Nikkei surged, the yen lost ground against the USD (a bit), trading up a little above 117.90 and finding sellers holding the line there. As of writing its testing session highs again (for the third time) with the Nikkei 225 +4% on the day.

China developments were more orderly today. The USD/CNY fix came and went with little drama, the yuan mid point being strengthened a hair again by the People's Bank of China today.

Chinese stock markets opened higher (by around 1% on yesterday) but have since given it back, the Shanghai Composite slightly negative as of the lunch break.

After covering its post-ECB 'gap' in NY trading the EUR/USD topped out early here above 1.0880 and slipped lower for the balance of the session toward 1.0830, where it is close to as I write.

AUD/USD and NZD/USD maintained their overnight gains, the NZD putting on a bit more of a spurt before settling sideways with the AUD. USD/CHF and Cable have both been fairly flat in narrow ranges.

Gold is barely changed on the session, even oil is much calmer.

In all, a sedate FX range session with regional equities the movers, the Nikkei a stand out.

A special note on the HKD. Despite the talk of peg pressure it gained its most for about 4 years today to take some of the strain off. Its still down on the week, though.

Regional equities with Shanghai closed for the lunch break:

  • Nikkei +4.22%
  • Shanghai -0.28%
  • HK +1.41%
  • ASX +1.01%