It was a subdued session following on from an active Monday in the US. Yields are an important driver for the higher USD against other major FX and indeed the dollar remained bid here, albeit in limited ranges.

USD/JPY ticked a little higher still, up towards 149.90 but still shying away from the 150 round number level. Japan finance minister Suzuki was out with the usual sort of verbal intervention on the pair. While his comments were pretty much more of the same and are somewhat hollow the pair did hold under 150 (as I post) so perhaps Suzuki gets some credit for that.

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester spoke on her economic outlook before the 50 Club of Cleveland Monthly Meeting, saying that she expects one more Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) rate hike this year. Mester has been persistently hawkish, but did dial it back a little today in the rest of her comments.

Data from New Zealand and Australia was non-impactful, both the NZD and AUD dribbled lower but local data are not drivers to the extent that US moves are.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is still to come, the Bank is expected to leave its cash rate on hold at 4.1% but skew hawkish in Governor Bullock’s Statement. Previews (more are linked in these posts below):

Asian equity markets:

  • Japan’s Nikkei 225 -0.6%

  • China’s Shanghai Composite 0% … China is on holidays all this week

  • Hong Kong’s Hang Seng -3% … reopened today after holiday Monday

  • South Korea’s KOSPI 0% ... closed for a holiday

  • Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 -1%

usdjpy 150 wrap chart 03 October 2023

USD/JPY continues to knock on the door at 150