Asia Open - Overnight Highlights

EMERGING ASIA

EM currencies perform individually against the USD as the fx market remains subtle with little headline and market moving economic release. SGD saw the largest gain of 0.04%, followed by CNY 0.03%, PHP 0.02% and HKD 0.01%; the biggest losers are MYR by 0.27% KRW 0.24%, IDR 0.18%, TWD 0.16% and CNH 0.03%.

USD/CNH is trading higher at 7.2121 compared to the 7.2101 at previously closed. Onshore spot USD/CNY is trading lower at 7.1966 from 7.1990 previously closed. 12 month NDF followed the offshore market and is trading higher at 7.0118 compared to 7.0095 previously closed.

USD/IDR spot market is trading higher at 15771 from 15742 previously closed. 1 month NDF is trading lower at 15760 from 15769 previously closed.

USD/INR onshore spot market is trading unchanged at 82.89. 1 month NDF is trading lower at 82.99 from 83.01 previously closed.

NA Session

The USD traded a little lower through the North American session, with the JPY the best performer. USD/JPY lost around 45 pips to 149.85 after hitting a low of 149.70. EUR/USD spiked above 1.0870 on the date but gradually slipped back to near 1.0850, barely above pre-data levels. Gains in AUD/USD and GBP/USD also faded while USD/CAD ended back near the day’s highs around 1.36. 

USD weakness was driven by softish US data, with the ISM services index slightly on the weak side of expectations, although the details were mixed, with new orders and busuness activity higher, and employment and prices slipping.