European Summary and Highlights 10 Jan

European morning session
The USD was generally lower against the riskier currencies through the European morning, but little changed against the JPY and CHF. EUR/USD rise 20 pips to 1.0950, and there were similar gains in the other risky currencies. 
The main news was from Scandinavia. Norwegian CPI came in marginally below expectations at 5.5% in the core, but there was little reaction in the NOK, with EUR/NOK steady at 11.31 after a dip mid-session. Swedish data was mixed. GDP numbers or November rose 0.2%, which looks strong following the 1.0% gain in October. But production, retail sales and confidence data were all on the soft side. EUR/SEK was also little changed near 11.20. 
Other data showed French industrial production rising more than expected in November at 0.5%, and Italian retail sales also beating expectations at 0.4% m/m. 
Asia session
The Japan November Labor Cash Earning has disappointed at 0.2% y/y vs expectation of 1.5% and dropped from 1.5% in October. This is a key metric as BoJ is focusing on wage growth to push for sustainable inflation reaching target. With November's report being a disappointment, BoJ will patiently wait for the spring wage negotiation to assess the pace of wage inflation before any policy changes. USD/JPY rose by 0.24% to 144.80 as JGB yields slip further.
Australian November CPI continue to moderate as we forecast to 4.3% y/y from 4.9%, just shy of 4.4% expected. While monthly CPI is not as comprehensive as the quarterly CPI, it provides us with a good direction of where Q4 CPI is heading, which is a resumption to the previous downtrend after an energy led spike in Q3. Regional equities have reversed early optimism to trade close to unchanged while commodity prices remain steady. AUD/USD is 0.24% higher at 0.6702, NZD/USD is 0.05% higher at 0.6242 while USD/CAD slipped 0.06% on higher oil as more Red Sea conflict surfaces. Elsewhere, EUR/USD is unchanged and GBP/USD is 0.06% lower.