- Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari speaks on the economy Friday
- Taiwan will go to the polls on Saturday to pick a new president
- Japan chief cab sec says supports US & Allies efforts to secure safety of shipping vessels
- China December trade data shows exports and imports both gained y/y
- China 2023 CNY denominated exports +0.6% y/y & imports -0.3% y/y
- European Central Bank board member Philip Lane is speaking Friday
- China December CPI -0.3% y/y (expected -0.4%)
- PBOC sets USD/ CNY reference rate for today at 7.1050 (vs. estimate at 7.1592)
- Heads up for the US holiday on Monday January 15 - markets closed
- Biden says will not hesitate to direct further measures on Houthi targets in Yemen
- Australian data - November home loans +1.0% m/m (expected +1.3%)
- There are reports that the United States Embassy in Iraq was bombed on Thursday night
- PBOC is expected to set the USD/CNY reference rate at 7.1592 – Reuters estimate
- Japanese equities continue their stunning rise
- Oil continues to climb in wake of US and UK air strikes on Houthis. USD/JPY circa 145.00
- US and UK air strikes underway in Yemen, targeting Houthis
- US Navy maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft spotted off Yemen - yen rises
- Amidst anticipation of military strikes on Yemen's Houthi, Biden's schedule confuses
- Shipping chaos: Industrial action at 3 major east coast Australian ports
- Goldman Sachs anticipates Federal Reserve tapering announcement in May '24
- People's Bank of China rate cut coming up on Monday? Preview.
- Concerns about protracted economic weakness in the euro zone
- Forexlive Americas FX news wrap 11 Jan: CPI higher but gains in dollar and yields reverse.
- December US CPI - Barclays analysts didn't say "I told you so" but they should have
- It was a ride in the equity market today but it ended where it began
- Trade ideas thread - Friday, 12 January, insightful charts, technical analysis, ideas
The news today in Asia was dominated by US and UK airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. Despite being warned off attacking merchant shipping in the Red Sea Iran-backed Houthi terrorists had been accelerating their assaults. US and UK strikes to secure safety and free passage for shipping vessels were targeted at radar installations, storage sites and missile launchers. The strikes were made by fighter jets based on the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier, as well as Tomahawk missiles launched from submarines and surface ships. UK fighter aircraft based in Cyprus took part. Support was given by Australia, the Netherlands, Bahrain, and Canada.
Financial markets responded mainly in a very subdued fashion. The yen rose. USD/JPY is trading under 145.00 as I post. Oil rose as well, extending its Thursday gains.
On the data front the focus was on Chinese inflation data for December (we had trade data for the same month also). About the best that can be said for the inflation numbers is that while consumer price deflation extended into a third month it eased a little. The PPI, ‘wholesale’ level inflation, remained in deep and persistent deflation.
The People’s Bank of China will set its Medium-term Lending Facility (MLF) on Monday. There are widespread expectations of a 10bp cut, see bullets above for more on this.
