It was a more subdued session than many of those seen last week in Asia. USD/JPY began early trading not far from its Friday close, around 146.55, before rising above 147.10. Ex-Bank of Japan monetary policy board member Sakurai hit the headlines saying he thought the Bank would be unable to hike again this year due to market volatility (he’s quite observant) and the low likelihood of a rapid economic recovery. Sakurai expects a hike around March 2025. USD/JPY has since fallen back a little and is circa 147.00 as I post.

In global politics, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the deployment of a guided missile submarine to the Middle East, along with accelerating the pace of deployment of the Abraham Lincoln carrier group. This is in response to the threat of an imminent Iranian/Hezbollah/Hamas attack on Israel. Oil is up a little on the session.

Across major FX the kiwi $ was a notable gainer. NZD/USD is back above 0.6010.

It was a market holiday in Japan today.

Bitcoin lost ground:

btcusd wrap 12 August 2024 2