Asia Open - Overnight Highlights

EMERGING ASIA

EM currencies perform individually against the USD as the greenback stays choppy after FOMC and the Christmas holiday approaching. SGD saw the largest gains of 0.48%, followed by PHP 0.3%, THB 0.13%, CNH 0.1%, MYR 0.08%, TWD 0.07% and CNY 0.01%; while the biggest loser is KRW 0.48%, INR 0.11%, IDR 0.1% and HKD 0.02%.

USD/CNH is trading lower at 7.1436 compared to the 7.1507 at previous close. Onshore spot USD/CNY is trading lower at 7.1378 from 7.1386. 12 month NDF followed the offshore market and is trading lower at 6.9689 compared to 6.9830 previous closed.

USD/IDR spot market is trading higher at 15525 from 15511 last closed. 1 month NDF is trading lower at 15458 from 15524 previous closed.

USD/INR onshore spot market is trading higher at 83.27 from 83.17. 1 month NDF is trading higher at 83.33 from 83.29 previously closed.

Major

The USD lost ground into the US data, which helped extend USD losses though only modestly. Most notable was a downward revision to core PCE prices though dips in UST yields on the data were not sustained. EUR/USD advanced to 1.10 and GBP/USD came close to 1.27. USD/JPY fell to near 142, AUD/USD reached 0.68 while USD/CAD fell below 1.33. 
Initial claims at 205k from 203k remain low in the survey week for December’s non-farm payroll and suggest the labor market remains tight. December’s Philly Fed at -10.5 from -5.9 however looks weak while final Q3 GDP was revised down to a still very strong 4.9% from a preliminary 5.2%. Most importantly core PCE prices at 2.0% annualized saw an unusually large downward revision from 2.3%.