- Economist cut Singapore growth forecast; inflationary pressure, geopolitical tensions risk
- New Zealand government removes full employment goal for Reserve Bank of New Zealand
- Wall Street Journal Timiraos suggest a less dovish Fed and Powell could surprise markets
- Preview of Australian jobs market data: Loosening labor market, rise in unemployment rate
- Senior Chinese Communist Party official supportive comments on policy
- Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary highlighting the need to monitor rising prices
- Asian Development Bank has raised its China's 2023 growth forecast to 5.2% (prior 4.9%)
- Westpac cuts its New Zealand Q4 CPI forecast to 0.3% (from 0.6%)
- Bank of America looking out past today's FOMC - 2024 soft landing
- Trillions of US stock options set to expire: What it means for the market
- PBOC sets USD/ CNY reference rate for today at 7.1126 (vs. estimate at 7.1717)
- Positive sentiment in Japanese automakers and hotels boosts economic outlook
- Japanese firms expect CPI to rise 2.4% in the coming year
- Australian Treasury forecast CPI inflation only hitting 2.5% target in 2025/26
- Seychelles-based KuCoin cryptocurrency "exchange" banned in New York, fined $22m
- New Zealand data: Food Price Index (November) -0.2% m/m (prior -0.9%)
- Argentine Economy Minister announces a devaluation of the peso
- China's Central Economic Work Conference - plans for growth, innovation, and stability
- New Zealand data: Q3 Current Account is a bigger deficit than was expected
- Oil - private survey of inventory shows larger headline draw than was expected
- Forexlive Americas FX news wrap: US CPI matches estimates
- Houthi terrorists warning to Red Sea vessels will spark concerns for oil traders
- US stocks up again. Fresh 2023 highs once again.
- Trade ideas thread - Wednesday, 13 December, insightful charts, technical analysis, ideas
The New Zealand dollar dropped on the session, a notable move given subdued changes elsewhere. The smoking gun for the drop appeared to be the report from Westpac slashing their expectation for Q4 CPI in half to 3%. If inflation does fall away rapidly it means the Reserve Bank of New Zealand should not need to hold rates ‘higher for longer” and thus undercuts support for the NZD, at the margin.
From Japan today we had the Q4 Tankan report, a survey of thousands of Japanese firms of all sizes, across a wide range of industries conducted by the Bank of Japan. It showed the Japanese economy continues to improve, albeit slowly. It also showed that business inflation expectations remain above 2% (the BOJ target) out for five years!
The USD gained slightly: EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD all down a few points on the session.
As the headline to the post says, markets are mainly now waiting for the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and Powell.
The oil price remained heavy, a draft global statement at COP28 has called for the world to transition away from fossil fuels by 2050.
