Asia Summary and Highlights 30 Sep
RBA holds as expected
Asia Session
The latest BoJ meeting summary is showing a split with tilt towards normalization. It came at no surprise as we see inflationary pressure piling and external factors dissipating. USD/JPY is trading 0.15% lower at 148.28 with the front end yields outperforming far end.
Trump announced a new tariff on lumber and timber, with a 10% base and certain wooden products up to 25% while E.U. and Japan import are capped by 15%. U.S. major equity indexes' reaction is muted while regional equities perform individually. AUD/USD is trading 0.29% higher at 0.6596 after RBA keeping rates unchanged at 3.6%, NZD/USD is trading 0.3% lower at 0.5794while USD/CAD is unchanged. Else, EUR/USD is up 0.06% and GBP/USD is up 0.05%.
North American session
The USD softened early in the session but ended off its lows, if still slightly down on the day. EUR/USD rose to a high of 1.1755 from 1.1715 before correcting to 1.1730. EUR/CHF was firmer at .9350 from .9340. USD/JPY was stable near 148.60. AUD/USD was firmer at .6580 from .6555.
A threatened US government shutdown on Wednesday weighed on the USD. August pending home sales were firmer with a 4.0% rise but September’s Dallas Fed manufacturing survey fell to -8.7 from -1.8. Fed’s Hammack was hawkish but more significantly Williams was cautiously dovish. Trump outlined a peace plan for Gaza that Israel’s Netanyahu accepted, though a response from Hamas is still awaited.