Forex and Bitcoin news for Asia trading Wednesday 14 February 2018
- More US inflation data previews - "CPI report will be closely watched"
- China January foreign direct investment +0.3% y/y in yuan terms
- (File this one away to tomorrow) Aussie jobs report due Thursday - previews
- Dollar weakness sees cable break near-term trendline resistance
- USD/JPY continues to tumble, it's a slippery slope from here towards 105.00
- Here go ... USD losing more ground
- US inflation data due Wednesday - previews
- Japan chief cabinet secretary Suga says no comment on FX levels
- RBNZ: NZ 2 year inflation expectations: 2.11% (prior 2.02%)
- South Korea crack down on illegal crypto trading is a government responsibility
- Big day for US data coming up - preview for retail sales (Jan)
- Westpac forecasts Fed funds rate to exceed RBA rate by more
- Here are the big option expiries for Wednesday to be aware of (and more too)
- PBOC sets USD/ CNY mid-point today at 6.3428 (vs. yesterday at 6.3247)
- A wee bit of AUD/JPY selling coming through
- Thanks Japan, but the GDP fun not done! Eurozone final Q4 due today - preview
- Singapore central bank says monetary policy unchanged from October
- Preview of NZ Q1 RBNZ survey of inflation expectations (and why its important)
- Japan economy minister Motegi says sees continued growth
- New Zealand - Finance Minister Robertson sees rates stable in near term
- Japan (prelim) Q4 GDP 0.1% q/q (vs. expected at 0.2%)
- Western Union says it is testing transactions with Ripple
- Australia - Westpac consumer confidence for February -2.3% m/m (prior +1.8%)
- Australia - Westpac consumer confidence data due at the bottom of hour - preview
- Kaspersky says Telegram flaw used for cryptocurrency mining
- Wanna watch a quick vid? 2 minutes with Goldman Sachs' Lloyd Blankfein on the Fed
- Heads up for Japan Q4 GDP data due soon (2350 GMT) - previews
- The yen surge and the Minister's verbal intervention
- Goldman Sachs head says there is a real risk inflation will force Fed rate hikes
- Forexlive Americas FX news wrap: USD ends the day lower but up off lows.
- Trade ideas thread – Wednesday 14 February 2018
- NZ data - Jan. food prices +1.2% m/m
- Japan Q4 GDP data due today - preview
- US regulator on FX markets - concern over ghost liquidity, fragmentation & more
- OIL - private inventory data reports a larger than expected build in US crude inventory
- Stock indices in the US end with gains. Erase earlier losses.
- WSJ reports there is no clear front runner for vice chair of the Fed
- NZ inflation expectations will be released in the new day. What levels to eye in the NZDUSD?
- Heads up for oil inventory data due at the bottom of the hour
- Economic calendar due from Asia today – Japan GDP for Q4
It was a quiet start in Asia but it soon warmed up.
The focus for the session was the Japanese Q4 GDP report and inflation expectations data from New Zealand.
The Japanese data was net a miss, but it was not all bad news
- Private consumption came in better
- Capex (business investment) continued to gain ... though it missed expectations
- Net exports were a disappointment, but exports were solid its just that imports gained strongly
The yen did very little in immediate response to the date ... but let me come back to the yen in a moment.
The other data of note for the session was inflation expectations from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. As I posted in the preview, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Assistant Governor McDermott had this to say on the data point:
That's a useful heads up, eh? Straight from the horses mouth!
2 year expectations (the focus ... cause its thought to be relevant to the lag between RBNZ policy change and CPI ) came in a t minuscule higher read than the previous (the data is quarterly):
- 2.11% compared to 2.02%
It was enough of a catalyst, however, to see NZD/USD marked higher and then for the gains to continue. NZD/USD is up 50-odd points from its session low as I update, a lot of this is USD weakness though. Which brings me back to the yen.
USD/JPY cracked under its overnight low circa 107.40. There had been some attempt at jawboning from Japan chief cabinet secretary Suga ... citing G7 and G20 concerns on volatility in forex, and how he was watching levels closely. Yeah, whatevs, dude ....
The yen found renewed buying, taking USD/JPY down to around 107.00 and EUR/JPY around 132.50. The USD lost ground as this was happening, EUR/USD to above 1.2380 and other currencies strengthening against the big dollar also.
- As I have pointed out earlier .... NZD a big gainer.
- AUD, CAD, CHF, GBP and gold all higher against the dollar.
Local stocks found the going tough :
- Nikkei fell to a 4-month low
- Shanghai Comp fell 0.3%
And ... its not over. there is plenty to come from Europa and the US to move currencies:
- GDP fun not done! Eurozone final Q4 due today - preview
- Here are the big option expiries for Wednesday to be aware of (and more too)
- More US inflation data previews - "CPI report will be closely watched"
- US inflation data due Wednesday - previews
- Big day for US data coming up - preview for retail sales (Jan)
And, if you'll allow me a plug for the Asian session tomorrow:
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Long live cryptocurrencies? Five insights from the ASAC Fund
