Europe Summary and Highlights 13 November
The USD was little changed in the European morning, edging up initially but dropping back to opening levels by the end of the session.
European morning session
The USD was little changed in the European morning, edging up initially but dropping back to opening levels by the end of the session. EUR/USD hit a low of 1.0594 before coming back to 1.0615 and USD/JPY hit hitting a high of 155.24 before returning to 155. Late in the session Reuters reported comments from former currency chief Masato Kanda saying Japan will act appropriately against excess movements on the foreign exchange market. He said "There is no change to our stance that we will need to respond appropriately to excess movements on the currency market as excessive foreign exchange volatility is undesirable”. However, there was no USD/JPY reaction.
Otherwise, there was no news of any real note, with no European data. There were mildly hawkish comments from established BoE MPC hawn Catherine Mann, but there had no GBP impact, and the minutes of the Riksbank meeting also had no effect on the SEK.
Asia session
The Australia Q3 2024 Wage Price Index arrived at +0.8% q/q, slightly lower than estimates and is showing signs that the Australian wage growth is slowing. Yet, the pace of slowing will likely be moderate as the labor market remains solid. Risk sentiment is sour on Wednesday's Asia session. AUD/USD is trading unchanged at 0.6533, NZD/USD is up 0.02% while USD/CAD also up 0.07%.
As USD continue its post Trump rally, the USD/JPY is staying elevated on Wednesday with little sign of verbal intervention from the Japan side. It is understandable in a way as the Japanese government and BoJ would be more intimidated by the pace of weakness in JPY rather a specific level. And now after the initial frenzy, the pace of weakness does not seem to be accelerating. But do not get me wrong, the continual weakness of JPY will remain in the heart of BoJ and the Japanese cabinet and we will likely hear from from them if USD/JPY rallies further . USD/JPY is trading 0.14% higher at 154.81. Else, EUR/USD and GBP/USD are down 0.05%.