Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Nikkei down 0.35 %, Shanghai Composite gained 0.05 %, Hang Seng rose 1.30 %, ASX up 0.30 %
- Commodities: Gold at $1082 (+0.43 %), Silver at $14.22 (-0.05 %), WTI Oil at $41.90 (+0.50 %), Brent Oil at $44.30 (+0.25 %)
- Rates: US 10 year yield at 2.26, UK 10 year yield at 1.89, German 10 year yield at 0.49
News & Data:
- RBA's Heath: Australia Growth `Not As Strong As We Would Like' — BBG
- Heath: A$ Fall Has Helped To Improve Competitiveness
- Heath: RBA Forecasts Show Expected Fall In Unemployment Rate
- Fed Vice Chair Fischer: Fed Has Taken No Final Decision On Timing Of Liftoff, Data Dependent
- Fischer: Commodity Prices Could Remain Low For Quite Some Time
- Asian shares hang on to gains, commodities battered – RTRS
- Oil up a fraction but near three-month lows on surplus supply – RTRS
Markets Update:
The US Dollar weakened further amid position covering ahead of the weekend and the commodity currencies benefited the most from this. AUD/USD rallied above 0.72 in yesterday's late NY session and reached a high of 0.7212. In Asia, the pair was consolidating in a 0.7190-0.7210 range. The next major obstacle is now 0.7225. NZD/USD reached 0.66 earlier, up 170 pips from Wednesday's low. Resistance is seen at 0.6620 and then 0.67, while the key intraday support level now lies at 0.6510. The Canadian Dollar was also able to recover somewhat against the USD, as USD/CAD fell from 1.3370 to 1.3250. However, in Asia, the pair caught a bid again and rose from 1.3280 to a high of 1.3310. The weak outlook for Oil prices continues to weigh on the Canadian Dollar, so gains could be limited.
EUR/USD was able to reach 1.0760 yesterday, but quickly ran out of momentum and fell back to 1.0720 in the late NY session. In Asia, it started the day at 1.0710 and rose to 1.0740. GBP/USD was under pressure after weak UK retail sales data, but quickly retraced the losses and made it above 1.53. The pair eventually settled around 1.5290 into the NY close. Overnight, it consolidated between 1.5270 and 1.5298.
Today, the focus will be on Canadian inflation and retail sales data.
Upcoming Events:
- 07:00 GMT – German PPI
- 08:00 GMT – ECB President Draghi speaks
- 13:30 GMT – Canadian CPI
- 13:30 GMT – Canadian Retail Sales
- 14:00 GMT – FOMC Member Bullard speaks
