Forex and Bitcoin news for Asia trading Wednesday 7 March 2018
- GBP/JPY finds support from yesterday's lows
- Markets find its footing after digesting Cohn's resignation
- Heads up for large FX option expiries later this week
- Cohn resignation ... opens up whole new wave of uncertainty
- More from Fed's Kaplan - says his base case is approximately 3 Fed rate hikes in 2018
- Fed's Kaplan says US and global economies are strong
- Bank of Canada monetary policy announcement coming up Wednesday - previews
- Responses to Australian Q4 GDP - better consumer spending the main surprise
- RBNZ corrects errors in NZD TWI calculation ('minor')
- PBOC conducts MLF operation ... 105.5bn yuan .... 1 year at 3.25%
- FX option expiries for Wednesday 7 March 2018 - 10am NY cut
- PBOC sets USD/ CNY mid-point today at 6.3294 (vs. yesterday at 6.3386)
- Fed's Brainard comments now on trade wars
- US President Trump says he will appoint a new Chief Economic Advisor soon
- China to Ease Bad-Loan Provision Rules to Support Growth
- More Fed Brainard: Rise in yields is consistent with tightening path
- Australia Q4 GDP 0.4% q/q (prior was 0.6%)
- EUR/USD going to 1.28 in a year says poll (up from 1.25 prior)
- Fed's Brainard: 'Headwinds shifting to tailwinds,' ready to slow or quicken rate hikes
- BOE Chief Economist Andy Haldane warns on danger of cryptocurrency investment
- US said to be mulling further curbs on Chinese imports
- USD/CAD higher on Cohn news
- Reports Trump is cancelling Thursday tariff meeting (arranged by Cohn)
- USD/JPY extending losses on Cohn resignation news
- US press reports Gary Cohn to resign as Trump top economy adviser
- Australia Q4 GDP preview (due at 0030 GMT) … careful of those estimates!
- RBA Gov. Lowe says data suggests Q4 GDP may be a little under 0.5% q/q
- NZ data: Q4 Construction work +1.4% q/q (expected +1.0%)
- Trade ideas thread - Wednesday 7 March 2018
- Australian GDP data due today - why what is expected is wrong (too high ...)
- RBA Gov. Lowe: Australian economy moving in the right direction
- OIL - private data reports than larger than expected build in US crude headline inventory
- Australia - Feb. construction sector PMI: 56.0 (prior 54.3)
- US stocks end the session with gains. Nasdaq leads the way.
- ForexLive Americas FX news wrap: Trade talk dominates
- Oil - heads up for the inventory data due around the bottom of the hour
- Trump says Nth Korea willingness to talk partly 'cause of sanctions
- NZ govt 7 month financial statement - bigger than expected surplus
- AUDUSD technicals into the 4Q GDP release
- Trump: Trade wars aren't so bad
- Here is what’s on the economic calendar in Asia today – Fed and RBA speakers
- Bank of Canada preview: Poloz will acknowledge three risks
US President Trump's top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, resigned. The news sent a wave of buying through the yen. This is Asia, so the move was not huge, a quick 60-odd points lower for USD/JPY. There were responses elsewhere, a few minutes later with gold higher, equities lower, AUD and NZD lower (AUD lost more than NZD did .... against USD) and CAD also. CHF higher.
EUR/USD and Cable gained a few tics but were not where the moves were.
Cohn's departure would seem to heighten risks for further trade tensions, it looks like Trump's steel and aluminium tariffs are well and truly on the table to start with.
We've since had a retrace for USD/JPY after it stalled for an hour around 105.50 (ForexLive telegram group got the heads up), but the extent has been to around 105.85 and is now back under 105.70.
Cohn was the dominant news during the session, by far.
We got Q4 Australian GDP data, which came in a touch under the 'expected' (I had a problem with the expected ... if I was correct then the GDP came in pretty much as expected:
The Australian dollar had dribbled lower ahead of the release but did not extend on the 'miss' (that wasn't really a miss at all, see that link). There were swings and roundabouts in the data, one positive noted was consumer spending, stronger than had been indicated by various indicators during the quarter (October to December 2017).
Still to come:
Bank of Canada monetary policy decision in focus Wednesday Nth America time: