Forex news for Asia trading Wednesday 8 July 2020
- Coronavirus - Japan chief cabinet secretary Suga says further easing on July 10 will proceed as planned
- EUR/USD forecast to 1.20
- ICYMI - Gold backed ETFs recorded their 7th consecutive month of positive inflows
- M5.2 US earthquake
- PBOC sets USD/ CNY reference rate for today at 7.0207 (vs. yesterday at 7.0310 )
- FX option expiries for Wednesday July 08 at the 10am NY cut
- Trump administration warned a retirement fund not to invest in Chinese companies
- Coronavirus - Australia will provide further income support, extended beyond September
- California coronavirus cases rise by at least 10,201 to 283,797
- Australian state of Victoria has 134 new coronavirus cases, from 191 the previous day
- Japan economy minister Nishimura says need coronavirus countermeasures urgently
- BOJ says deposits and CDs at Japanese banks rose at their fastest ever in June
- China has opened a new national security agency office in Hong Kong
- Canada tipped to forecast a >$300bn federal deficit
- While the downside risk for EUR has eased there is a big test for it ahead
- The US administration is reportedly in talks over the Hong Kong dollar peg
- Australian's warned they face a risk of arbitrary arrest in China
- US coronavirus - LA County cases up 4,015 for the biggest daily rise ever
- Forecast for AUD/USD, to 0.72 (here's why)
- UK Chancellor Sunak to announce GBP 2bn funding for hundreds of thousands of jobs
- Trade ideas thread - Wednesday 8 July 2020
- US coronavirus - Texas new cases up by more than 10,000 in just one day
- The US will place visa restrictions on some Chinese officials
- Private oil data shows build in crude oil inventory
- Brexit - UK PM Johnson says UK ready to exit without EU trade deal
It was a very subdued range day for major currency forex here in Asia with little data nor impactful news to drive rates. Late reports out of the US of continued record gains in coronavirus cases, hospitalisations, and deaths were once again not a driver.
A minor down move for currencies against the USD coincided with a report that the Trump administration had warned a federally administered retirement plan for railroad workers against investing in Chinese companies, saying additional sanctions could be on the way in return for China's role in spreading the virus. The FX moves on this were minor and soon reversed.
This has left currencies little net changed on the session.
Australian coronavirus new cases dropped to 134 in the previous 24 hours from 191 the day before, a bit of encouragement even as the nation's second largest city is about to locked down again for the next six weeks. This renewed shut in will cause a big hole in the economic recovery path ahead; the Federal government conceded today it would provide further income support for an extended period. The hapless state government that allowed infection numbers to balloon again have announced a formal enquiry into how the mismanagement occurred; too late of course, but at least its something.
Case numbers in Tokyo were above 100 again for another day. In Japan the government is noting many of the new cases are amongst a younger demographic, less susceptible to serious complications than an outbreak amongst older citizens would be - there is no sign of further Japanese restrictions ahead for the time being.
Stocks in China were steady, Shanghai Comp up just a little:
