The US dollar lost some ground during the Asia session with a higher EUR, AUD, CHF and, most notably, JPY.

There was little news nor data out of Japan to account for the drop in USD/JPY from its high in early trade above 155.50 to lows circa 154.90. We did get a rumour of the size of the government fiscal package, NHK (Japan’s national broadcaster) saying around 21.9 trillion yen (circa 141bn USD equivalent).

We heard from Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins after the US cash (equity) close. Collins was non-committal on her December FOMC view. In brief:

  • Some additional rate cuts needed.
  • Policy still restrictive.
  • Doesn’t want to cut rates too quickly.
  • Overly slow rate cuts could hurt the labour market.
  • Final destination of rate cuts is unclear.

No such indecision from the People’s Bank of China at today’s USD/CNY reference rate setting. The Bank sought to prop up the yuan again, setting the mid-rate about 550 points lower than the modelled estimate of 7.2482. The PBoC is seeking to support the yuan by damping USD/CNY gains.

For tech traders, the US Department of Justice has asked a judge to make Google divest Chrome browser, along with other punitive measures. This was foreshadowed in the days leading up to today.

Bitcoin rose above USD96,000

usdyen wrap 21 November 2024 2