Asia has had an extremely quiet session with no major economic data being released and the long weekend in the US encouraging many Asian traders to do the same
- Australian job ads grow for first time in 16 months
- Chinese exports continue to grow
- Regional stock markets rise by over 1% but Korea bucks the trend and falls slightly
- Oil and gold fall slightly
The EUR has managed some very modest gains against all the majors, for instance EUR/GBP is up from .8720 to .8745 on the session. German industrial production figures due out tomorrow are expected to show stable but continued growth whereas on the flip side, the Bank of England is expected to stick with its present course which is not inspiring any confidence in the GBP. (There is also talk of some solid buying interest at .8700).
The AUD/USD ran up early in the session from .8515 to .8535 but that was the extent of the day’s move. Despite good jobs-ads data and the fact that the psychologically important .8500 level has been breached, dealers are reporting that interest was extremely low today.
Exporter selling interest in USD/JPY looks to have moved a bit higher from the previous 93.00 level. There was evidence of corporates chasing the market lower after the election last weekend but they now seem to be showing more patience.
Ranges: EUR/USD 1.4304/33; USD/JPY 92.93/93.20; cable 1.6382/1.6418; AUD/USD .8514/37; EUR/JPY 132.85/133.60 and EUR/GBP .8716/49.
Markets: Nikkei 1%; HK +1.5%, Shanghai +1.5%; Kospi -0.1%. Gold $992/oz. Oil $68/bbl.