Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Nikkei down 0.45 %, Shanghai Composite fell 0.25 %, Hang Seng declined 0.05 %, ASX 200 rose 0.25 %
- Commodities: Gold at $1230 (+0.35 %), Silver at $16.18 (+0.05 %), WTI Oil at $41.60 (+0.20 %), Brent Oil at $43.90 (+0.10 %)
- Rates: US 10 year yield at 1.79, UK 10 year yield at 1.46, German 10 year yield at 0.17
News & Data:
- China GDP (YoY) Q1: 6.7% (exp 6.7% prev 6.8%)
- China Industrial Production (YoY) Mar: 6.8% (exp 5.9% prev 5.9%)
- China Retail Sales (YoY) Mar: 10.5% (exp 10.4% prev 10.2%)
- China New Loans (Mar) CNY 1370..0bln (exp CNY 1100.0bln prev CNY 726.6bln)
- South Korea Unemployment Rate SA (Mar): 3.8% (exp 3.9% prev 4.1%)
- PBoC Fixes Yuan At 6.4908 (prev 6.4891)
- BoJ Gov Kuroda Calls Yen’s Recent Rise ‘Excessive’ — WSJ
Markets Update:
USD/JPY rallied after the Tokyo open, despite the Nikkei being in the red today. The pair extended gains to 109.75 and offers are resting ahead of 110. Technical resistance lies at 110.60, the former key support level, while support is seen at 109.30 and 108.90.
USD/CAD remains volatile ahead of the OPEC meeting on Sunday. The pair failed to break above 1.29 yesterday and fell sharply after weaker than expected US econ data. It reached a low of 1.2780, from where it bounced back to 1.2850. In Asia, USD/CAD came under renewed pressure and declined to 1.28050.
AUD/USD broke briefly above 0.7725 resistance, but failed to sustain gains and fell back to 0.7680. In Asia, it traded in a 0.7680-0.7725 range. Techs remain bullish, but a break below 0.7620 would confirm a short-term head & shoulders pattern on the hourly chart and suggest further losses ahead.
Upcoming Events:
- 09:00 BST – Italian Trade Balance
- 10:00 BST – Euro Zone Trade Balance
- 13:30 BST – US NY Empire State Manufacturing Index
- 13:30 BST – Canadian Manufacturing Sales
- 14:15 BST – US Industrial Production
- 14:15 BST – US Manufacturing Production
- 15:00 BST – US University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment
