Europe Summary and Highlights 26 September
The commodity currencies weakened moderately through the European morning session, with AUD/USD falling 15 pips to 0.6525, USD/CAD rising 10 pips to 1.3950, and EUR/NOK up 2 figures to 11.72.
European morning session
The commodity currencies weakened moderately through the European morning session, with AUD/USD falling 15 pips to 0.6525, USD/CAD rising 10 pips to 1.3950, and EUR/NOK up 2 figures to 11.72. Otherwise, there was little net movement, although USD/JPY edged a little higher mid-session before dropping back.
Commodity currency weakness may have reflected the weaker oil price, and may also be a consequence of the new tariffs announced by Trump overnight, which have weighed on risk appetite. But the session was generally quiet with no data of significance.
Asia session
The September Tokyo CPI headline dipped to 2.5% y/y with ex fresh food at 2% and ex fresh food & energy at 2.5%. While on first glance it may suggest a strong moderation in inflationary pressure, but we feel like it is more of a base effect than actual easing of inflation. USD/JPY is trading 0.1% lower at 149.64, shrugging off the negative revision in the wage figure from 4.1% to 3.4% y/y in July.
The broader risk sentiment is sour on Friday's Asia session. It seems to be dragged by Trump's latest barrage of tariffs, even with little detail. HSI and Nikkei are leading the losses while U.S. and Chinese major equity indexes are all in the red. AUD/USD is trading 0.02% higher at 0.6514, NZD/USD is trading 0.03% higher at 0.5769 while USD/CAD slips 0.02%. Else, EUR/USD is up 0.11% and GBP/USD is up 0.08%.