Asia Summary and Highlights 19 Feb
Australian January unemployment rate 4.1%
Asia Session
The Australian January unemployment rate beats estimate at 4.1% with participation rate staying the same at 66.7%. Headline employment change is a miss but still in positive territory. Looking into the detail, we could see strong full time position growth, which is generally positive for the Aussie. AUD/USD is trading 0.04% higher at 0.7045. NZD/USD is trading 0.01% higher while USD/CAD rises 0.07%.
CBS reported that U.S. military is ready for Iran strikes as soon as Saturday, waiting for Trump's decision. It feels like a cry of the wolf and Trump's tactic to force Iran fast track their negotiation. The Japan December core machinery order is robust but failed to inspire any JPY rally. USD/JPY is trading 0.28% higher at 155.19. Else, EUR/USD is up 0.04% and GBP/USD is down 0.09%.
North American session
NY trading had started with a small bounce after December housing starts came in better than expected (though DGO’s were marginally better than expected, the market did not really react given the volatility of the numbers). The USD gained more ground after the better than expected 0.7% industrial production figure for January. Even so, the market remains comfortable with pricing two 25bps cuts from the Fed in July and October, as CPI/core PCE inflation trends are expected to allow the Fed to ease later in the year. A more significant catalyst is required for persistent direction.