- N.Z. trade balance showed a surplus of NZ $ 15 mln. (market was looking for a deficit of 41 mln. )12 mth YTD NZ$853 m (forecast -891m) the annual trade deficit widens to the most since 2009.
- RBA Governor Stevens sees A$ ‘ bit on the high side ‘ , not dramatic. Bit of safe haven effect on A$, foreign demand for A$ gov’t debt is strong, intervention would be a very big call with large scale risks, did NOT intervene in the A$ , deserves AAA rating , and says mining boom has another year or to left before it peaks.
- Australia June conference board leading index 0.2% (prior 0.3%).
- Japan July corporate service price index -0.2% (survey -0.2%, prior 0.3%revised to -0.4%)
- China MNI Flash business sentiment indicator – at 46.76 (prior 49.73) showing a shrinking economy .
- Fed’s Evans on CNBC : ‘there’s a lot of reason to do more’ easing , as long as unemployment rate stays above 7 % , Fed should should keep rates at zero, as long as inflation doesn’t breach 3% .
- Merkel and Hollande unite in tough message for Greece .
- Berlin preparing for “Grexit”-MNI
How unusual , we had a very quiet trading session for a Friday . Consolidation was the key word for the evening as market participants decided to go on a long weekend . Talks of Greece again as Samaras visits with Merkel and Hollande the next few days ,looking for more time for Greece . Time just ain’t gonna be on his side. RBA Stevens had a lengthy talk with Parliament today highlighting he did not intervene in the A$ but did state it was higher than he expected .
EUR/USD non-event 1.2568 high / 1.2553 low , 1.2600 barrier being talked about , seemed like five big figures away instead of 50 pips away.
USD/JPY non-event 78.68 high / 78.45 low I didn’t see the low , think it was more like 50 but compromise at 79.46 low.
AUD/USD non-event 1.0445 high / 1.0422 low . Very good buying interest at that 1.0420 level and option barrier at 1.0400 .
That’s it , have a good weekend all .
