- A major British bank had the EUR/USD flows today; bids at 1.3970/80 which didn’t get filled, stops above 1.4010 which were triggered in early Tokyo trade, buying flows said to come from an Asian central bank and EUR buying on the crosses, especially against the JPY.
- Deflation is a recurring problem in Japan with core CPI -1.1% YoY
- Chinese industrial profits fell 23% in the first 5 months of 2009
- The NZ economy continues to disappoint, this time it’s the adjusted GDP for Q1, coming in at -2.7% against expectations of -2.3%
- Japanese retail sentiment index falls by 4 points to -20
- Overnight highlights: US job numbers disappointed; Bernanke performed credibly on BoFA/Merrill grilling; oil price rises on supply worries.
- Asian stock markets are generally up to 1% higher.
- Oil is holding steady just above $70/bbl and gold has added $2, to $942.50/oz
The Asian session has been dominated by the aforementioned EUR flows and this has had a effect on all other pairings. USD/JPY fell from its’ opening level at 96.00 to try and get at stops below 95.50 but EUR/JPY buying was too consistent and this forced USD/JPY back towards its opening level.
Cable was steady around its opening level at 1.6380 until the EUR/USD buying helped it to pop higher. There has been no GBP-related news of note.
AUD/USD has been similarly flow affected. Stops above .8060 were triggered but the follow through has been limited with the talk of solid offers around .8085.