- UK house prices steady in July, -7.7% YoY- Hometrack survey
- Japan’s June CSPI -3.2% YoY
- Ben Bernanke speaks on a variety of issues, no major statements
- South Korean consumer sentiment highest since 2002
- Regional Asian stock markets were generally higher on the day
- US and China meeting for talks early this week
- FT reports that meeting will be ‘uneasy’
All of the majors opened unchanged from their NY closing levels after an uneventful weekend. The first move was down in the JPY crosses as dealers reacted to reports that the first high level meetings between the new US administration of President Obama and the Chinese delegation might be uneasy. EUR/JPY fell to its session low of 134.25 and EUR/USD traded to 1.4170 before some demand at the Tokyo fix turned sentiment around and most pairs have now returned to their opening levels.
Dealers report some quite heavy offers in EUR/CHF at 1.5250, which might be option related. Stops are noted in EUR/GBP above .8700. Heavy offers are still noted in USD/JPY above 95.25. Order books are mixed in both cable and EUR/USD with cross plays set to dominate the short term.
Markets; Nikkei +1.6%; HK +1.3%; Shanghai +0.4%; Kospi +1.55%; Oil $71/bbl; Gold $953/oz.
Ranges: EUR/USD 1.4170/1.4237; Cable 1.6383/70; AUD/USD .8145/.8212; USD/JPY 94.66/93; EUR/JPY 134.25/135.05.
