The forex trading headlines for Asia trading today, Friday May 24
- New Zealand April trade balance 157M (vs. 515M expected)
- New Zealand April Exports came in at 3.95B, expected was 4.06B
- New Zealand April Imports came in at 3.80B, expected 3.60B
- China MNI flash business indicator for May at 57.1 (vs. 58.5 prior)
- Draghi gave a speech in London at 10.30pm local time
- Moody’s affirmed Switzerland’s Aaa rating, outlook stable
- CME hiked margin requirements for Nikkei225 futures
- Japan’s economy minister Amari said he wouldn’t comment on whether Thursday’s stock falls were temporary
- Japan PM Abe also declined to comment on yesterday’s fall in stocks
USD/JPY traded higher in the hours leading up to the Tokyo open as Nikkei225 futures recovered to post gains. The opening of the Tokyo stock exchange saw the Nikkei move higher, which USD/JPY responded to with further gains. JGB yields started to rise mid-morning, putting a top on USD/JPY. BOJ market operations to buy bonds put a lid on the yield movement, though and stocks, bonds and USD/JPY all settled into a sideways pattern through until the afternoon.
AUD/USD and NZD/USD both declined through the morning session, neither showing much of a bounce at all as US names continue to be notable sellers. We go into early Europe on the lows for both AUD and NZD.
EUR/USD and GBP/USD traded a little lower, but these two were relatively inactive during the session.
