- No real bad news out of anywhere but the risk trades have slid lower in Asia with AUD/JPY falling close to 1%
- UK now set to undergo major regulatory overhaul
- US Congress and Fed also working through financial market reforms
- Reuters Tankan shows mood among Japanese manufacturers at a two-year high
- Reuters Q2 Asian corporate index, 78
- Regional bourses down by 0.35%
There has been a little more activity today but the return of China after their 3-day holiday did not have the desired effect and ranges have again been fairly tight.
The mood has been one of risk-aversion which is the default mood in Asia. EUR/JPY closed in NY at 112.50 and fell back through 112.00 in the morning session. Plentiful bids in the EUR/USD between 1.2250/60 managed to stall further losses. Ranges: EUR/USD 1.2261/1.2313, EUR/JPY 111.86/112.58
USD/JPY has yet again been used purely as a tool for cross-trading as the market is not at the right levels for corporate interest. Range: 91.20/44
Cable has been trading heavily since half-way through the NY session and while it hasn’t really moved against the EUR during our session, it has continued to drift lower against the USD and the JPY. Ranges: cable 1.4688/1.4737, EUR/GBP .8341/64
The AUD/USD targeted stops below .8590 in the early part of the day and once they were done, interest evaporated. Range: .8587/.8635.
Markets: Nikkei -0.6%, HK +0.2%, Sydney -0.4%, Kospi -0.1%. Gold +$3 @ $1234/oz.
