Yes, it’s a huge session coming up from the US today, beginning at 8.30 am US Eastern time with inflation data and then the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement, complete with an updated Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), "dot plot", at 2pm, with Federal Reserve Chair Powell’s press conference a half hour later.

Asian traders were more or less content to not do too much and wait on the barrage of info ahead. Plenty will be up late/early to catch it all (ps. Rithmic looks like it’ll be back for the trader-funded folks).

What we did have of note today was a nine-month y/y high for Japanese PPI. On the face of it this should encourage the Bank of Japan to further dial back monetary stimulus, but the problem is the wholesale level inflation is of the cost-push kind, much of it due to the weak yen pushing up the price of raw material imports, which may weigh on consumption, and the broader economy, and further distance the demand-drive inflation the bank wants to see before having the confidence to tighten further. Let me know in the comments how that argument sounds to you, there is more in the ‘Recapping the inflation data’ post, above.

From China today we had CPI and PPI data. The CPI held steady at 0.3% y/y but PPI improved from +2.5% in April to -1.4% in May. The improvement in the PPI (although still firmly in deflation) gave the AUD a brief and minor lift.

Across major FX ranges were very small.

EUR/USD little changed:

eurusd wrap chart 12 June 2024 2