- Wall Street fell again, down 1.35% with losses late in the session
- Regional bourses fell early but have since rebounded to finish the session in positive territory
- Fed Chairman Bernanke commented on all the major issues such as the European crisis, government deficit spending, the value of the Yuan and regulatory overhauls. He stressed that Europe is committed to maintaining the EUR.
- RBA’s Broadbent still sees a positive economic outlook
- BHP and Rio Tinto to raise iron ore prices by 22%
- Australian business confidence falls sharply
- Japan’s current account surplus slightly lower than expected
- Japan’s bank lending still falling
The late sell-off on Wall Street saw the JPY crosses opening the Asian session on their lows but sentiment has improved as the session progressed and so have the risk trades.
EUR/JPY opened at 109.00 and has drifted higher throughout the session with dips being well supported. Generally positive remarks from Mr Bernanke certainly helped sentiment. EUR/USD has also moved higher in line with the cross but volatility has been a lot lower than in recent sessions. Ranges: EUR/USD 1.1915/82; EUR/JPY 108.96/109.91
AUD/USD opened on its lows but the news that BHP and Rio were to raise iron ore prices as well as the positive RBA remarks all helped the Aussie to bounce. The poor confidence data was expected and ignored. Range: .8090/.8207
USD/JPY has been well bid all session as demand for the crosses returned. The slew of economic data was again ignored. Ranges: USD/JPY 91.43/87
Sterling has again been fairly quiet, losing a little ground against the EUR. Ranges: cable 1.4463/1.4511, EUR/GBP .8235/61
Markets: Nikkei +0.6%, HK +0.25%, Kospi +0.8%, Sydney +1.1%. Gold steady at $1240/oz. Oil $71.40/bbl.
