A very quiet session for much of the day has livened up after Tokyo lunch with JPY buying the dominant theme.
- Chinese government think-tank sees Q3 GDP at +8.5%
- Chancellor Darling still sees need for caution
- Japanese opposition headed for decisive election victory
- Regional stockmarkets fall, Nikkei -1.6%, Sydney -2.0%
- Westpac shares fall on quarterly update, weighs on AUD and NZD
- JGBs rally to multi-week highs, Treasury futures at highest level in over a month
What had been a very quiet session got busy straight after the Tokyo lunch break with USD/JPY leading the way. Consistent selling from Japanese corporates continues to weigh and despite reports of solid bidding interest below 93.80, the pair has continued to fall printing a low at 93.49 before steadying.
AUD/JPY led the crosses lower as Westpac’s quarterly report and especially it’s bad debt provisions unsettled the market.
Dealers say that there are quite large stops either side of the market particularly in the AUD/USD and the EUR/USD. Some have already been done but more stops are now seen in the EUR/USD below 1.4200 and 1.4150. More stops in the AUD/USD below .8200.
Ranges: EUR/USD 1.4220/68; cable 1.6438/1.6517; USD/JPY 93.49/94.28; AUD/USD .8228/.8328; EUR/JPY 132.94/134.48.
Markets: Nikkei -1.6%; Sydney -2.1%; Kospi -0.7%; Shanghai -0.25%; HK -1.1%. Gold $942.50/oz. Brent crude -$0.5 at $72.85/bbl.