- Australian unemployment rate falls to 5.1%
- Japan’s big manufacturers sentiment index +13.3, up from 10.0 in previous quarter
- Japanese government meeting ends with usual talk about intervention but no concrete action plan
- South Korea surprisingly leaves rates unchanged
- China’s agricultural commodities fall heavily
- Singapore Dollar reaches record levels against the USD, MAS seen buying USD/SGD
- Regional stockmarkets +0.5% on average
The AUD has been the biggest mover on the day, moving higher across the board on stronger than expected employment data. Turnover was heavy above .9200 in the AUD/USD as AUD buying against all other majors helped to work through some good-sized sell orders. Ranges: AUD/USD .9172/.9235
USD/JPY moved higher in early trade as a stream of bullish sentiment passed through the interbank market. USD/JPY briefly traded above 84 and EUR/JPY closed in on 107 before the momentum waned. The lack of anything concrete from this morning’s government meeting also encouraged longs to bail out. Ranges: USD/JPY 83.67/87.02, EUR/JPY 106.45/94
EUR/USD has moved around with flows in EUR/JPY and it has also been impacted by EUR/AUD selling. Range: EUR/USD 1.2713/42, EUR/CHF 1.2863/97
Cable has been quiet in a 25 pip range and the cross has slid lower in line with EUR selling against the other majors. Ranges: Cable 1.5452/77, EUR/GBP .8221/39.
Markets: Nikkei +0.7%, HK +0.6%, Seoul flat, Shanghai -0.3%. Gold $1257/oz. Oil $74.50/bbl.
