- China’s financial regulatory body demands stress tests for other industries
- RBA maintains positive outlook on GDP, inflation, jobs
- Japan’s foreign reserves top $1 trillion
- Regional stockmarkets slightly ower
It has been an excrutiatingly quiet session in Asia today with only a brief flurry in the AUD after the RBA’s forecasts and a minor EUR/JPY flow after lunch to liven things up.
USD/JPY closed in NY around 85.80 and the Asian market showed no interest in trying to generate enough momentum to test the increasingly pivotal 84.80/85.00 level. The Nikkei opened 1% lower and this encouraged some JPY buying but as the Nikkei regained some losses, so also has USD/JPY. Ranges: USD/JPY 85.75/86.08; EUR/JPY 113.01/56.
AUD/USD closed in NY at .9150, fell briefly on news of the Chinese regulator’s call for extended stress tests but then rebounded on an upbeat RBA. It finishes the session unchanged after a range of .9136/58.
EUR/USD has moved slowly in line with cross flows but a 22 pip range says it all, 1.3176/98.
Cable has been similarly miserly, 1.5867/97 and EUR/GBP .8293/.8309.
Markets: Nikkei -0.3%, HK and Kospi flat, Shanghai +0.2%. Gold $1197/oz, Oil $82/bbl.
