News and data flow during the session here was light.

We did have ongoing comments from Bank of Japan Governor Ueda, who was answering questions in the Diet (Japanese parliament) again today. The comment that hit the headlines was Ueda saying the BoJ could raise interest rates next month depending on economic data available at the time. The meeting in July is on the 30th and 31st. Ueda also said (he said a lot, but notably …) that higher import costs from the weak yen may negatively impact household spending, but he added that increasing wages will help underpin consumption and he expected the economy to remain on track for a moderate recovery.

On balance his comments were yen-supportive, but during it all USD/JPY has not moved much. From highs earlier around 157.75 it fell to just under 157.55 and it is more or less centred in that small range as I post.

EUR/USD moved higher early, to just over 1.0740 but subsided to be just above 1.0720 as I post. Yes, not a larger range at all.

AUD, NZD, GBP, CAD followed similar patterns, all are near their (small range) session lows as I update. Ahead for the Australian dollar is the Reserve Bank of Australia statement due at 0430 GMT (0030 US Eastern time) with Governor Bullock’s press conference following an hour later. The Bank is widely expected to remain on hold and to keep its options open on rates depending on incoming data (sticky inflation above the Bank’s 2-3% target band is the biggest challenge for the RBA at present).

Still to come on Tuesday are US retail sales data for May followed by a half-dozen Federal Reserve officials speaking. It’s a holiday in the US on Wednesday so it seems they are lining up to get noticed before the mid-week break.

AUD/USD ahead of the imminent Reserve Bank of Australia statement:

audusd wrap rba 18 June 2024 2