Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Nikkei down 0.45 %, Shanghai Composite gained 3.80 %, Hang Seng fell 0.60 %, ASX gained 0.65 %
- Commodities: Gold at $1142.90 (-0.50 %), Silver at $15.65 (-2.75 %), WTI Oil at $48.00 (+0.40 %), Brent Oil at $51.50 (-0.35 %)
- Rates: US 10 year yield at 2.04, UK 10 year yield at 1.83, German 10 year yield at 0.33
News & Data:
- Japan Machine Orders (MoM) Aug: -5.7% (exp 2.3% prev -3.6%)
- Japan Machine Orders (YoY) Aug: -3.5% (exp 3.5% prev 2.8%)
- Japan BoP Current Account Balance (Aug): 1653.1 JPY Bln (exp 1226.06 Bln prev JPY 1808.6 Bln)
- Asia flags but China stocks surge in catch-up after long break – RTRS
- Oil rebounds, shrugging of U.S. stockpile build – RTRS
- S&P 500 at Seven-Week High as Biotech, Commodity Shares Rally – BBG
Markets Update:
It was a rather quiet overnight session, with no major data releases. EUR/USD started the session around 1.1235, from where it eventually rose to a high at 1.1260. GBP/USD caught some decent upside momentum after the break of the 1.5245 level, but ran into decent resistance ahead of 1.5340. In Asia, the pair consolidated in a 1.5298-20 range. Meanwhile, USD/JPY remains under pressure after the BoJ meeting yesterday. It found support at 119.75, which held twice in the past 24 hours, but continues to look weak and a test of 119.25 seems likely in the near-term. The commodity currencies weakened slightly overnight, with AUD/USD dropping to 0.7165 from a high of 0.7220, while NZD/USD declined from 0.6630 to 0.6585. There is no particular news or event behind the decline of the commodity currencies overnight, so it seems flow-driven.
Upcoming Events:
- 07:00 GMT – German Trade Balance
- 12:00 GMT – Bank of England Rate Decision
- 12:30 GMT – ECB Meeting Minutes
- 13:30 GMT – US Initial Jobless Claims
