Major FX rates traded in small ranges during the session. USD/JPY ticked a little higher to an 11-month high above 149.75. From the Bank of Japan today we had the ‘Summary of Opinions’ from the September meeting. If you are not familiar with the Summary, it provides a concise precis of the views expressed by Policy Board members during the meeting. It does not attribute opinions to individual members but offers a general overview of the views held by the board. The Summary precedes the full Minutes of the meeting by many weeks and is often a useful source of what was discussed very quickly after the meeting. Today’s Summary was notable in not indicating any prospect of a tweak or change in policy from Bank any time this year. It was a contributor to the further yen weakness seen today. Rising US yields, again, did so too.

As the headline to the post points out we had a mixed bag of PMIs from China. These were released over the weekend. Both of the two official PMIs, from China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) improved from August, both beat expectations, both are now in expansion, and the manufacturing returned to expansion for the first time in six months. Both of the privately-surveyed Caixin PMIs dipped from August, both missed expectations, and in a more positive sign, both remained in expansion.

Also, the US Congress passed a ‘can-kick’ bill to fund the US government for 45 days. US President Biden signed the Bill into law. The Congress now has those 45 days ahead, into mid-November, for the warring factions to piece together a more enduring agreement. If they can.

Asian equity markets:

  • Japan’s Nikkei 225 +1.4% ... local stocks helped by a weaker yen again

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

  • Hong Kong’s Hang Seng % ... Closed today for the national holiday, will reopen Tuesday local time

  • South Korea’s KOSPI +0.1%

  • Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 -0.1%

usdyen chart wrap 02 October 2023