It was a very subdued session across major FX with traders mainly content to await the inflation data due during the US timezone later. There are previews of this in the bullet points above.

The news flow was early, with US President Biden meeting with Congressional leaders for debt ceiling negotiations. Statements at the conclusion of the meeting from participants, along with other reports, indicated that little progress towards resolution was made. Work will continue and another meeting of the leaders was set for Friday.

Data flow was negligible, but I did pop up a post on S&P Global/JP Morgan’s global PMI. This hit a 16-month high despite “the three largest national economies covered (the US, China and Japan) all performed below the global average”.

Asian equity markets:

  • Japan’s Nikkei 225 -0.4%

  • China’s Shanghai Composite -1%

  • Hong Kong’s Hang Seng -0.6%

  • South Korea’s KOSPI -0.1%

  • Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 -0.1%

The private survey of oil inventory released during the US afternoon showed a build. A draw was expected.

Oil hasn't done a real lot in response, off a touch only.

oil wrap chart 10 May 2023