All of the majors have returned to their NY closing levels with the exception of the AUD/USD which has managed to make some moderate gains after strong employment data
- Australian unemployment rate still 5.8% but 24,500 new jobs are created
- Chances increase of another 25 bps rate rise by the RBA
- New Zealand Q3 retail sales -1.0% versus same period last year
- South Korean central bank remains dovish
- Japans wholesale prices fall 6.7% in year to October
- Gold is holding on to gains near $1120/oz with physical demand still evident in Asia
- Regional stockmarkets lost between 0.25/0.5% on average
Another very quiet day in Asia has only been enlivened by the jobs data out of Australia which isn’t particularly overwhelmingly good but does raise the chances of a further 25 bps rate rise by the RBA before Christmas. The unemployment rate stayed the same at 5.8% but there were 25,000 new jobs created (albeit the majority being part-time jobs).
The AUD/USD jumped from .9310 to 45 immediately on the number release, struggled for a short time to work through some big offers at .9345/50, before eventually breaking higher and topping out at .9369. Range, .9296/.9369.
EUR/USD and cable both jumped higher along with the AUD with the (warped) logic being that the employment data was somehow relevant in a global economic picture. EUR/USD rallied to1.5016 and cable to 1.6627 before sense prevailed and these gains were given back. Ranges: EUR/USD 1.4979/1.5016 and cable 1.6558/1.6627.
USD/JPY has again been pretty quiet after a 10 pip trading range in NY. The wholesale prices data again showed the deflation issue facing the Japanese economy. Range: 89.68/98.
Markets: Nikkei -0.4%, Kospi -0.3%, HK -0.4%. Gold +$5 at $1120/oz. Oil steady at $79.25/bbl.
