Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Nikkei down 0.90 %, Shanghai Composite gained 0.65 %, Hang Seng and ASX both fell 0.50 %
- Commodities: Gold at $1076 (+0.10 %), Silver at $14.185 (+0.50 %), WTI Oil at $38.30 (+2.10 %), Brent Oil at $40.90 (+1.55 %)
- Rates: US 10 year yield at 2.22, UK 10 year yield at 1.83, German 10 year yield at 0.58
News & Data:
- China CPI (YoY) Nov: 1.5% (exp 1.4% prev 1.3%)
- China PPI (YoY) Nov: -5.9% (exp -6.0 prev -5.9%)
- Australia Westpac Consumer Confidence Index (Dec): 100.8 (prev 101.7)
- Japan Machine Orders (MoM) Oct: 10.7% (exp -1.5% prev 7.5%)
- Japan Machine Orders (YoY) Oct: 10.3% (exp 0.6% prev -1.7%)
- Japan Money Stock M2 (YoY) Oct: 3.3% (exp 3.5% prev 3.6%)
- Japan Money Stock M3 (YoY) Oct: 2.7% (exp 2.8% prev 2.9%)
- Australia Home Loans (MoM) Oct: 0.5% (exp -1.0% prev 2.0%)
- Australia Investment Lending (MoM) Oct: -6.1% (prev -8.5%)
Markets Update:
The focus in the past 24 hours has been again on Oil prices, which saw high volatility yesterday. WTI Oil fell as low as $36.60, only to bounce from there and rally to $38.50 two hours later. Eventually, it was almost unchanged on the day at the NY close. The Canadian Dollar suffered from the sharp decline in Oil prices, but recovered slightly after the bounce off $36.60. USD/CAD fell from 1.3610 to 1.3570 and in Asia, it consolidated in a 1.3568-88 range.
AUD/USD started the new trading day around 0.7220. It fell to 0.7210 after the Tokyo open, but recovered from there and got back to 0.7225. NZD/USD came under renewed pressure, as it declined from 0.6660 to 0.6625. The key support area 0.6600/10 is holding for now and traders are looking forward to the RBNZ rate decision tonight, where the bank is expected to cut rates by 25 bps. A rate cut is widely expected, so it is unlikely to drive the NZD much lower, but much will depend on the statement and comments from RBNZ Governor Wheeler as well.
Upcoming Events:
- 06:45 GMT – Swiss Unemployment Rate
- 07:00 GMT – German Trade Balance
- 20:00 GMT – Reserve Bank of New Zealand Rate Decision
- 20:00 GMT – RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement
- 20:00 GMT – RBNZ Governor Wheeler speaks
