Forex news for Asia trading Thursday 13 November 2014
- IMF: ECB may need to do more if inflation outlook weakens
- New Zealand – Business NZ manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for October: 59.3 (prior was 58.5)
- New Zealand – Food price index for October: 0.0% m/m (prior was -0.8%%)
- Nikkei – Japan LDP party preparing platform for potential elections
- Reuters Tankan shows manufacturing sentiment improves, but to weaken again
- Japan October PPI: +2.9% y/y (vs. +3.3% expected) – Also the securities flow data
- Japan data – Machine orders for September: +2.9% m/m (vs. -1.0% expected)
- NZ – ANZ consumer confidence index for November: -1.3% (prior was -3.4%)
- UK data – RICS House Price Balance for October: +20% % (vs. expected 25%)
- Australia – Melbourne Institute Consumer Inflation Expectations for November: +4.1% y/y (prior was 3.4%)
- China Business News: China set to lower 2015 GDP growth target
- Japan chief cabinet secretary Suga: Appropriate decision on sales-tax to be made by the end of the year
- Japan firms overwhelmingly want Abe to delay tax hike – Reuters poll
- New Zealand – REINZ house price index +3.9% y/y (prior was +4.1% y/y)
- JP Morgan: Cuts 2014 & 2015 GDP forecast for Australia
- Japan finance minister Aso: Decision on sales tax to be made this year
- Australia – RBA’s Kent: Reiterates that the AUD is above most estimates of fundamental value and Haven’t ruled out FX intervention
- More on RBA’s Kent’s intervention in AUD comment
- How will the RBA time an intervention in the AUD?
- BOJ official Amamiya: QQE programme is open-ended, not deadline set
- Japan industrial production (September) final: +2.9% m/m (and capacity utilization data also)
The sharp mover today was the AUD, which fell 60 points on comments from RBA Assistant Governor (Economic) Christopher Kent. The AUD had been edging up in response to his published speech, which was vanilla stuff we’ve heard many times before (like “AUD above estimates of fundamental value given falling resource prices”), but it was the Q&A where he dropped the “I” word, saying the RBA had not ruled out FX intervention (see bullets, above). That was enough to wake the market up, with longs getting the liquidation treatment as the market quickly sliced 60+ points from the AUD/USD.
Elsewhere across the currency markets it wasn’t action-packed. EUR/USD edged generally a little higher on the session, gaining nearly 30 or so points. Cable was flat. Even the yen was subdued, with USD/JPY and EUR/JPY nevertheless managing small gains on the session.
Gold did manage a good bounce for early lows, adding nearly $10 from session lows to up a little on the day. Its near session highs and on a bit of a tear as I write.