Forex news for Asia trading Monday 7 January 2019
- Brexit - Theresa May planning further postponing final Brexit deal vote
- Bridgewater Associates’ flagship hedge fund +14.6% in 2018
- China has approved new rail projects worth more than $125bn in the past month
- RBC on what to expect from the Fed, BoE, RBA and BoC for 2019
- Citi are looking for a 14% gain in global equities over the next 12 months
- UBS Chair Weber expects the Federal Reserve to pause in March
- PBOC sets USD/ CNY mid-point today at 6.8517 (vs. Friday at 6.8586)
- Japan December Nikkei / Markit Services PMI: 51.0 (prior 52.3), Composite: 52.0 (52.4)
- China press (opinion piece): China has room for a further RRR cut
- UK manufacturers say delays at the border after Brexit a major risk for business
- Oil - more from Goldman Sachs on cutting price forecasts
- Morgan Stanley on gold (why it went up last week & what it means for EUR)
- NZD traders - Barclays recommend a short (entry, target, stop)
- CS says Powell's remarks justify a softer US dollar
- IMF official says the world is unprepared for recession
- Former ECB chief economist Stark says ECB itself is a risk to financial stability
- Trade ideas thread - Monday 7 January 2019
- Australia Manufacturing PMI for December: 49.5 (prior 51.3)
- Japan press: US & Chinese Presidents considering another face-to-face meeting
- Monday morning FX - 7 January 2019 - foreign exchange prices, early indications
Weekend
- DUP calls on May to dump 'poison' Brexit backstop
- Magnitude 7.0 earthquake hits NNW of Ternate, Indonesia - report
- Trump says he may declare national emergency to build wall
- Fed's Williams argues for changes to inflation target
- Beijing says China's population to peak in a decade the start 'unstoppable' decline
- UK Nationwide January house prices -2.1% y/y vs +0.5% prior
A little USD weakness in Asia today, most pronounced against the yen. USD/JPY slid from early above 108.60 in early Tokyo (and highs above 108.70 pre-Tokyo) to lows under 108.10 as the Japanese morning progressed. The Nikkei opened higher (in response to US Friday stock market gains), ticked up a little and has so far retraced to be little changed.
Yen crosses are lower alongside, but the impact has been blunted somewhat by currencies generally trading stronger against the USD. USD/CAD is down to circa 1.3360 while AUD and NZD are both up just a touch. GBP, EUR and CHF are all also a little stronger against the dollar. News and data flow have been light and of low impact.
AUD traders might like to note the AiG manufacturing PMI slipping into contraction in December (see bullets above).
Still to come: