- Australian unemployment rate 5.4%, 34k new jobs created
- Japan’s March current account balance much greater than expected at +65% YoY
- UK consumer confidence slightly higher in April
- Germany’s SAP agrees to buy US company Sybase
- RBA asst gov Lowe: central scenario for Australian economy still positive
- EU debt problems could cause postponement of CNY reval- FT
- Regional stockmarkets rise by over 1.5%
- Gold slips slightly after making new record highs overnight
It has been a very quiet trading session in Asia with most of the majors trading in 40 pip ranges. The AUD saw some slight volatility after the release of the latest jobs data and both the GBP and the EUR have taken a break after massive movements in recent days.
AUD/USD opened the session around .8945 and traded quietly in a .8943/60 range pre-data. Stops above .8980 were targeted soon after the numbers were released but the move higher was quite orderly. Range: .8943/96.
USD/JPY has again moved around with flows in the crosses and was unable to gather enough momentum to challenge corporate offers in the 93.35/50 zone. Range: 93.08/27
EUR/USD fell early on after the news regarding the SAP takeover of Sybase but as any flows are potentially months away, the fall was short-lived. The rise in the S&P overnight led to USD buying but Asia was happy to resort to the traditional “buy JPY crosses” play in response to a higher Nikkei. Ranges: EUR/USD 1.2623/60; EUR/JPY 117.58/118.05.
Sterling was similarly quiet as no new reports emerged from Downing Street, and no news is always good news when it comes to the GBP. Ranges: 1.4818/66; .8512/26
There are reports of barriers in the EUR/CHF ahead of 1.4000 where the SNB is also expected to show itself again.
Markets: Nikkei +1.8%, Kospi +1.7%, All Ords +1.3%, HK +0.9%. Gold -$5 at $1238/oz.
