Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Nikkei down 2.30 %, Shanghai Composite fell 0.70 %, Hang Seng gained 0.40 %, ASX 200 rose 0.85 %
- Commodities: Gold at $1249 (-0.10 %), Silver at $17.30 (+0.01 %), WTI Oil at $45.20 (-0.35 %), Brent Oil at $46.75 (-0.35 %)
- Rates: US 10 year yield at 1.83, UK 10 year yield at 1.62, German 10 year yield at 0.29
News & Data:
- Bank of Japan Leaves Rates and QE unchanged
- RBNZ Leaves Its Official Cash Rate At 2.25% As Expected
- RBNZ: Further Policy Easing May Be Required
- RBNZ: Lower NZD Desirable To Boost Inflation
- RBNZ: Exchange Rate Remains Higher Than Appropriate
- RBNZ: To Closely Watch Emerging Data Flow
- FOMC keep rates on hold at 0.25% – 0.50% for Fed Funds target
- FOMC removes reference to global events posing risk
- FOMC sees inflation rising to 2% in medium term, low in short term
- Brazilian Central Bank Leaves Its Benchmark SELIC Rate At 14.25% As Expected
- Japan CPI (YoY) Mar: -0.1% (exp 0.0% prev 0.3%)
- Japan CPI Ex-Fresh Food (YoY) Mar: -0.3% (exp -0.2% prev 0.0%)
- Japan Unemployment Rate (Mar): 3.2% (exp 3.3% prev 3.3%)
- Japan Job-To-Applicant Ratio (Mar): 1.30 (exp 1.28 prev 1.28)
- Japan Household Spending (YoY) Mar: -5.3% (exp -4.1% prev 1.2%)
- Japan Industrial Production (MoM) Mar, P: 3.6% (exp 2.8% prev -5.2%)
- Japan Industrial Production (YoY) Mar, P: 0.1% (exp -1.6% prev -1.2%)
- Japan Retail Sales (MoM) Mar: 1.4% (exp 0.5% prev -2.3%)
- Japan Retail Sales (YoY) Mar: -1.1% (exp -1.4% prev 0.4%)
- Australia Export Price Index (QoQ) Q1: -4.7% (exp -1.5% prev -5.4%)
- Australia Import Price Index (QoQ) Q1: -3.0% (exp -0.9% prev -0.3%)
- PBoC Fixes Yuan At 6.4954 (prev 6.4837)
Markets Update:
The Bank of Japan decided to leave rates and their QE programme unchanged, which led to a sharp decline in USD/JPY. The pair fell from 111.70 to a low of 108.75 and traders are now waiting for the press conference at 0630 GMT. USD/JPY has bounced off 108.75 earlier and is currently consolidating around the 109.40 level. The cross pairs have also seen sharp moves, with GBP/JPY declining 400 pips overnight and AUD/JPY down more than 200 pips.
The New Zealand Dollar rallied after the RBNZ left rates unchanged. Some market participants expected a rate cut and increased their NZD short bets ahead of the meeting. NZD/USD rallied to 0.6940 after the central bank's announcement.
AUD/USD was quiet and traded in a 0.7570-0.7610 range, while USD/CAD fell back below 1.26 and extended losses to 1.2580.
Upcoming Events:
- 07:30 BST – Bank of Japan Press Conference
- 08:00 BST – Spanish CPI
- 08:30 BST – Swedish Retail Sales
- 08:55 BST – German Unemployment Change
- 08:55 BST – German Unemployment Rate
- 09:00 BST – Norwegian Unemployment Rate
- 10:00 BST – Euro Zone Consumer Confidence
- 13:00 BST – German CPI
- 13:30 BST – US GDP
- 13:30 BST – US Initial Jobless Claims
