- Official China PMI falls to 50.4 from 53.3 last month; market had expected a fall to 52.2
- HSBC China PMI 48.4, lower than the flash estimate of 48.7, and down from 49.3 last month
- MOF official: Will respond descisively if Yen moves excessively against EUR and USD
- Japan Q1 Capex +3.3% YoY
- BCC forecasts near flat UK growth
- Nikkei -0.7%, Kospi -0.2%, HK and Shanghai +0.4%
- Gold $1557/oz; Oil $86.25/bbl
It’s been another fairly unremarkable session in Asia apart from one sharp sell-off in the risk trades after the official Chinese PMI came in much lower than expected.
AUD/USD traded fairly quietly near .9720 for much of the morning but the official PMI release sent it tumbling back below .9700 and triggered stop-loss selling below .9670, on its way to a session low at .9644. AUD/JPY was also hit hard but it stalled at the overnight lows near 75.75. The AUD then steadied and finally regained a foothold above its short-term pivot at .9575. The slightly lower HSBC PMI failed to add to the bearish momentum, and AUD/USD has traded a .9775/90 range for the early afternoon trade. Ranges: .9644/.9732
EUR/USD has followed the AUD lead, but dip-buyers were plentiful ahead of more barrier protection at 1.2300, and momentum has been lacking. Shorts are in no rush to cover ahead of tonights NFP and barrier protection is slowing the fall. Ranges: 1.2322/66.
USD/JPY moved higher in early trade as dealers positioned themselves long ahead of the Tokyo open, just in case of more brazen BOJ activity. The only intervention has been the usual verbal kind, and these intraday longs have long since given up. Ranges: 78.32/64
Cable 1.5363/1.5409, EUR/GBP .8013/33
