- South Korea raises rates by 25bps to 2.5%
- Latest RBA minutes show recent rate rise decision was finely balanced
- Fed’s Yellen sees slow recovery and low inflation: says QE2 not aimed at driving USD lower
- Japan’s wage base continues to inch higher
- Regional stockmarkets generally flat, Kospi -0.5% after rate decision
- Gold $1360/oz, Oi;l $86.50/bbl
Not much to report in what has been a fairly quiet session. The EUR has rallied modestly across the board although turnover has been quite light. Modest EUR/JPY buying out of Tokyo has been the main factor in this. EUR/USD closed in NY at 1.3575 but has gradually moved higher throughout the session. Ranges: EUR/USD 1.3562/1.3623, EUR/CHF 1.3369/1.3402.
USD/JPY has seen a quiet range, trading mainly around 83.10, with buying of the JPY crosses being offset by mild USD selling. Ranges: USD/JPY 83.00/22, EUR/JPY 112.77/113.15
EUR/GBP was again unable to break below .8450 technical support and this has affected both the EUR/USD and the cable. Ranges: Cable 1.6030/75, EUR/GBP .8458/83
The AUD/USD slipped somewhat after the release of the RBA minutes but all of the local banks have buy orders situated around .9800 so a bearish day was never going to eventuate. Range: .9820/70.
