- A large barrier at 97.00 in EUR/JPY was well protected and kept safe massive stops just below
- EUR/USD was also well supported ahead of Friday night’s low but bounces have also been anaemic
- Japanese machine orders show strong rise
- Japan December CGPI +1.3% YoY
- UK house prices continue to slide
- Tomorrow’s China GDP expected to show growth slowed to 30-month lows- survey
- PBOC fixes USD/CNY mid-point at 6.3306
- Australian December TD-MI inflation gauge +2.4% YoY
- Australian overall job ads -0.9% MoM
- Regional stocks -1.25% on average; Gold $1638/oz; Oil $99/bbl
- Day ahead sees the Troika return to Greece for a week of meetings and French T-bills auction later today; US markets will be closed for a public holiday
Unsurprisingly, the EUR opened weaker in early interbank trade. After closing at 1.2685 in NY on Friday, EUR/USD opened below 1.2650 but has been unable to break below the NY lows at 1.2624, despite some very heavy turnover especially in EUR/JPY. The cross challenegd a barrier at 97.00 but couldn’t breach it. Large stops are reported just below there. Overall it’s been a session of consolidation of recent losses. Ranges: EUR/USD 1.2625/57; EUR/JPY 97.01/40
USD/JPY tried to establish a foothold above 77.00 in early trade but heavy real-money and corporate offers between 77.10/25 ensured that this bullish momentum couldn’t last. EUR/JPY selling then drove the USD/JPY pair lower. Range: 76.81/77.11
AUD/USD opened with a fairly heavy tone in generally risk-off conditions. Aussie selling against the JPY, EUR and NZD was noted at various times but overall the AUD has held up well despite the market tone. Ranges: 1.0248/1.0304
Cable 1.5276/1.5313 with talk of Sovereign bids at 1.5270.
EUR/CHF 1.2063/78 with talk of barriers at 1.2050 and of course the SNB at 1.2000.
