The People’s Bank of China cut the Medium-term Lending Facility (MLF) rate today, from 2.3% down to 2%, adding in 300bn yuan of 1-year funding. Chinese markets rose again, following on from their surge on Tuesday and Wall Street’s lead.

From Australia, we had a monthly inflation reading. August headline inflation dropped into the Reserve Bank of Australia target band of 2 – 3% at 2.7% y/y, well down from July’s 3.5%. Much of the drop was attributable to federal and state government electricity rebates. Electricity prices had their largest fall on record, down nearly 18%. Underlying inflation, as measured by the core trimmed mean came in at 3.4%, down from July’s 3.8% but still holding above the top of the RBA target band.

Major FX rates traded in relatively subdued ranges with some retracement for the USD after its sharp fall on Tuesday. Gold hit another record high.

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