Chinese share markets did not trek towards the moon again today – it was a holiday in both mainland China and Hong Kong, markets were closed. Chinese markets reopen on Tuesday October 8. It was also a holiday in South Korea today.

USD/JPY was a mover, rising above 144.00 in the wake of multiple data points from Japan:

  • the Bank of Japan Tankan report for Q3 showed sings that economy continues to recover
  • the Bank of Japan ‘Summary of Opinions’ for the September meeting reiterated that monetary policy makers discussed the need to be cautious about raising interest rates given concern over volatility in financial markets, and uncertainty over the US economic outlook. I pointed out that these concerns were voiced on the day of the meeting, they are not new news
  • Japan’s manufacturing PMI for September remained in contraction for a 3 rd consecutive month

USD/JPY encountered resistance above 144.00 and has since fallen back to just under 143.70. Japan's finance minister Suzuki said a few words on intervention efforts during his tenure, providing a bit of a cap for USD/JPY.

From New Zealand today we had an improved, but still weak, Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion (QSBO) from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER). NZ Treasury released its latest economic update, also acknowledging weakness and not painting optimism for much improvement immediately ahead. BNZ issued a forecast for a 50bp rate cut from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand next week (meeting is October 9). NZD/USD has lost ground on the session and as I post is dipping to fresh session lows under 0.6325.

From Australia, data for retail sales in August showed improvement beyond estimates, helping AUD/USD to rise above 0.6930 briefly. Its since drifted back to be little changed on the day.

NZD/USD:

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