There was no news nor data from Japan today of relevance for the yen. JPY has been volatile enough not to need much to move, and today was no different. USD/JPY fell from highs above 149.25 to around 148.80.

The USD was weaker pretty much across the major's board. Ranges were not large.

Data from New Zealand was notable. Q2 PPIs both rose from Q1, and above expectations. NZD/USD rallied back above 0.6000.

From Australia we had parliamentary testimony from Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Bullock and a group of her senior officials. Bullock reiterated that while the RBA judges that monetary policy is sufficiently restrictive, inflation remains too high and its too early to be thinking about rate cuts. AUD/USD ticked higher to just over 0.6625.

EUR, GBP, CAD, and CHF all gained against the US dollar (again, ranges were small only).

Regional equities rose following a strong Wall Street performance. The Nikkei also liked the drop lower for the yen on Thursday.

usd index wrap 16 August 2024 2