Forex news for Asia trading Friday 31 January 2020
Coronavirus:
- Coronavirus - Japan also tells its citizens not to travel to China
- Coronavirus - American Airlines pilots to decline assignments to flights between the USA and China
- More on that US travel advisory to not go to China
- Plenty of provinces/regions and cities in China extending the holiday into mid February
- Coronavirus - Taiwan's fin min says not time now for national stabilisation fund to enter the stock market
- Coronavirus - US has issued a travel advisory to not travel to China
- Japan will enforce drastic measures for coronavirus from Saturday
- South Korea says it will take market stabilisation steps if fear grow
- Coronavirus - A province in China has requested firms stay on holiday until February 10
- China confirmed cases of coronavirus - here is how the infection has spread
- Coronavirus - China's NHC figures: Confirmed deaths 213, confirmed cases 9,692
- Coronavirus update: 213 deaths vs 130 yesterday. More than 12,000 suspected cases
- The coronavirus outbreak is going to slash China's economic growth - and not just China
- Coronavirus - China official joins in with the WHO in trying to calm fears
- Death toll in China's coronavirus outbreak has risen to at least 212
- Russian government denies news about first coronavirus incident in Moscow
- Germany 5 - Italy 2 (ps. coronavirus confirmed cases)
- Coronavirus - Italy's Prime Minister has blocked flights between China and Italy
Other
- RBA policy meeting February 4 - to keep interest rates on hold - preview
- RBA monetary policy meeting next week, February 4. Preview.
- US politics impeachment news - Republican senator hints at calling witnesses
- China's Stats Bureau on the January PMIs (translation - 'its complicated')
- China official PMIs for January: Manufacturing 50.0 (expected 50.0) Services 54.1 (53.0)
- FX option expiries for Friday January 31 at the 10am NY cut (ps. There is a barrier option at 0.6700 on the AUD with buyers 'defending' that level)
- Australia Private Sector Credit for December: +0.2% m/m (expected 0.2%)
- Brexit - UK Times says UK PM Johnson wants a 'Canada style' trade deal with the EU
- Westpac's AUD forecasts for 2020
- UK - GfK Consumer Confidence for January -9 (expected -9)
- Japan Industrial Production for December (preliminary) 1.3% m/m (expected 0.7%)
- Japan Retail sales for December 0.2% m/m (expected 1.0%)
- Tokyo inflation data for January, CPI headline 0.6% y/y (vs. expected 0.7%)
- Japan Unemployment rate for December: 2.2% (expected 2.3%)
- Trade ideas thread - Friday (Brexit day!) the 31st of January 2020
News on the spread of the coronavirus continued to worsen. Markets, however, were in a forgiving mood today with regional stocks higher as were currency 'risk' trades.
On the virus the details are in the bullets above but the major points:
- More deaths
- More confirmed cases both in China and globally
- Japan to rush more drastic measures a week earlier than was originally scheduled
- The US State Dept. issued a level 4 (the highest) advising citizens not to travel to China
- Provinces in China have extended the holidays, some as far out as February 10
Data from China today were the official PMIs for January. The surveys were conducted prior to January 20 and thus did not capture the you-know-what-hitting-the-fan events since. Services improved, manufacturing was down 0.2 points. Really, pretty irrelevant - its the February figures that will show the impact of the coronavirus spread.
Currency movement was limited. Yen lost ground, USD/JPY trading above 109.10 at one stage. Cable is flat while EUR/USD has lost a few tics. AUD and Kiwi are also a touch softer, though not by much. The two countries are tightly economically entwined with China and are going to take a hit from the terrible disease impacts there.
Its Brexit day, the UK leave the EU at 2300GMT on January 31, and the 'transition' period will follow through to December 31 2020 (which can be extended by up to two years if the UK and EU agree to this before July 1 2020).
A politician who kept his promise.
