- BOJ dep gov Uchida says will judge trend inflation by looking at various indicators
- Russia defence ministry says has begun drill with Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles
- BOJ Gov. Kuroda says BOJ's large-scale easing has boosted the economy and prices
- Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba plans to split itself into six independently run firms
- PBOC sets USD/ CNY mid-point today at 6.8771
- South Korean authorities will consider lifting a short-selling ban this year
- AUD/USD marked down a few points on Australian CPI data coming in lower than expecte
- Australian monthly CPI (February) 6.8% (vs. expected 7.1%)
- Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda and two new deputy governors will appear in parliament today
- The US has added 5 Chinese firms to its trade blacklist
- OPEC+ Committee meeting is scheduled for next week - no change recommendation is expected
- Australian inflation data due today - monthly CPI for February 2023
- Goldman Sachs targets GBP/USD at 1.19 in 6-months
- Magnitude 5.4 earthquake hits Southern Italy
- Its looking like one trade, a $5.4mn one, triggered "Deutsche Bank" global rout on Friday
- ICYMI - Barclays highlights supply issue implying upside risk to its $92 Brent forecast
- ICYMI - EU energy ministers agree to extend gas demand cuts by a year
- Forexlive Americas FX news wrap: US consumer confidence beats estimates
- Private oil survey data shows huge crude oil inventory headline draw
- Trade ideas thread - Wednesday, 29 March 2023
There was no obvious fresh catalyst for the rise in USD/JPY during the timezone here. From lows circa 130.80 its traded to highs just over 131.65 and is not far from the highs as I post. We had remarks from Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda and new Deputy Governor Uchida, but these came after the rise.
The focus of the data agenda were CPI data from Australia. This was the monthly CPI, for February, which came in below the estimate and below the January and December month CPIs. It was suggestive of a peak for inflation. The next quarterly CPI, which is a more reliable and complete inflation data point, is due on April 29. We wait until then for confirmation. For the Reserve Bank of Australia, which meets on April 4, the lower CPI for the month will be viewed as adding to the case for a pause in the Bank’s rate hike cycle at this meeting. The Bank said, clearly, in the minutes of its March meeting it was considering a pause. I think they have enough to do just that at next week’s meeting. The opposing viewpoint is that the Bank would be more comfortable waiting for the more reliable quarterly data on April 29 and thus a hike next week and a pause in May.
AUD/USD is down on the session by a few points after the data. NZD/USD is higher with some cross buying noted.
Hong Kong stocks rose strongly on the news that Jack Ma’s Alibaba will be broken up into 6 separate firms, more in the bullets above.
Oil held higher after a huge draw was reported in the private weekly survey of inventory.
Asian equity markets:
Japan’s Nikkei 225 +0.39%
China’s Shanghai Composite -0.2%
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng +2.04%
South Korea’s KOSPI -0.12%
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 +0.15%USD/JPY: