Asia Summary and Highlights 20 November

Asia session

The Japan October headline trade balance has come in lower than estimate but details beats in both export and import at 0.4% and 3.1% y/y respectively. While both data point beat estimate, the import beat is more critical as the BoJ would like to see domestic consumption improve on higher wages. USD/JPY continues to trade 0.24% higher at 155.03. The lack of verbal intervention did not help the fall in JPY while U.S. Treasury yields are performing individually and JGB yields higher.

As the PBoC left its interest rate unchanged, regional equities do not seem to bother as there is little expectation of another cut. The Westpac leading index suggests the Australian economy is showing more growth momentum since November 2023. AUD/USD is trading 0.06% lower at 0.6527, NZD/USD is 0.07% lower at 0.5908 while USD/CAD is unchanged. Else, EUR/USD is down 0.02% and GBP/USD is up 0.04%.