- IMF contribution to crisis fund described as hypothetical
- Australian government faces opposition to resources tax; will release budget later this evening
- UK retail sales fall, impacted by Easter
- UK house prices on the rise
- Chinese house prices continue to rise despite govt actions
- Chinese CPI accelerated in April
- PBoC adviser says Yuan move likely
- Regional stockmarkets fall by up to 1%
It has been a fairly orderly trading session in Asia although the selling of JPY crosses has picked up steam towards the latter part of the session. The possibility of a Yuan revaluation is adding spice to an already nervous market.
EUR/JPY opened at 119.20, fell to 118.30 in early trade before rebounding straight back to the opening level. Traders felt that the moves were over and done with for the day but a renewed sell-off has been sparked by talk that the long awaited Yuan revaluation is about to happen. Range: 117.84/119.41
EUR/USD has had a 100 pip range, positively boring by recent standards. Traders remain bearish but the market is short and concerted action by the ECB could still lead to severe short covering. Range: 1.2708/1.2804
USD/JPY has again moved around with the JPY crosses in a 92.68/93.40 range.
Cable has been nervous as the unsettled political situation threatens to take a toll. The mixed economic data has had no effect. Ranges: cable 1.4778/1.4873, EUR/GBP .8583/.8617
The AUD has triggered stops late in the session below .8980 but it has been an otherwise quiet day. Range: .8968/.9035.
Markets: Nikkei -0.6%, HK -1.4%, Kospi -0.5%. Gold $1201/oz.
