Forex news for Asia-Pacific trading on December 4, 2019:
- Australian Q3 GDP +0.4% vs +0.5% q/q expected
- Global Times editor: US politicians with stakes in China should be careful
- China Caixin November services PMI 53.5 vs 51.2 expected
- China foreign ministry vows to further respond to human rights bill
- Japan November final Jibun Bank PMI services 50.3 vs 50.4 prelim
- New Zealand November ANZ commodity price index +4.3% vs +1.2% m/m prior
- Jared Kushner involvement in US-China trade talks hints at progress
- PBOC likely to cut bank reserve ratio in Q1 - China Securities Journal commentary
- Wards US November total vehicle sales 17.09m vs 16.90m expected
- Australia CBA November final services PMI 49.7 vs 49.5 prior
- Iraq oil minister says an additional OPEC+ cut is required
- US private oil inventory data shows a surprisingly large draw
- Australia AiG performance of services index 53.7 vs 54.2 prior
Markets:
- CAD and JPY leads, AUD lags
- Nikkei 225 -1.1%
- Gold up $1 to $1479
- WTI crude up 37-cents to $56.47
The Australian dollar slipped on the GDP report and continued lower on the fresh political tensions between China and the US. AUD/USD is down a quarter-cent on the day and currently at the lows of the session at 0.6824.
The GDP data was a bit better than the headline due to an upward revision to Q2 and the US human rights bill along with the Chinese response was generally expected.
In the bigger picture a bit of risk aversion is creeping in on a follow through from Trump's latest tariff comments and moves. Overall, however, the shifts have been modest in Asia-Pacific trading.
An interesting sub-plot is in oil where production cuts are back on the table -- at least if you listen to Iraq. However it's not the Saudis and certainly not the Russians leading the charge and it's been those two producers who have been bearing the brunt of the curbs. Expect a microscope on every comment for the next 48 hours.
