Asia Summary and Highlights 23 August
BoJ Ueda will adjust monetary easing if our economy price outlook is likely to be achieved
Japan National July CPI Headline 2.8% y/y vs. 2.7% expected
Asia session
BoJ's Ueda spoke in front of the parliament on Friday and seems to reinforce the hawkish rhetoric in the BoJ's July meeting. It suggest deputy governor's remark on rates and market instability merely an act of verbal intervention. Ueda continue to points towards more tightening if inflation forecast plays along with BoJ's playbook despite uncertainty. Fortunately, the latest headline July CPI lingers close to 3% at 2.8% y/y with ex fresh food also at 2.7%, should be supporting BoJ's decision now. USD/JPY slipped 0.43% for the session so far to 145.65 with a session low at 145.29 with JGB yields outperforming their U.S. counterpart.
Regional sentiment is performing mixed with Chinese and Hong Kong equities in the red while Japanese outperforms. U.S. three major equity indexes are also in the green after taking it in the chin on Thursday. USD is trading broadly softer with antipodeans and JPY leading the charge. AUD/USD is trading 0.26% higher at 0.6723 and NZD/USD is 0.22% higher at 0.6154 while USD/CAD slipped 0.15%. Else, EUR/USD is up 0.1% and GBP/USD is up 0.13%.