22 Jul 2014
Asia Recap: No jawboning from RBA Stevens buoys AUD
FXStreet (Bali) - A relatively quiet session in Asia, with the Australian Dollar trading slightly higher after a scheduled RBA Stevens speech made no references to policy nor the AUD levels.
AUD/USD opened on a weak tone, however, it found solid bids around 0.9360 vicinity, which helped lift the pair ahead of the RBA Stevens speech, which turned out to be uneventful for AUD traders. The fact that Stevens refrained from talking down the AUD, was interpreted as bullish by the market, which bid the AUD as high as 0.9393 before a retracement back towards 0.9375-80 area.
USD/JPY traded with a firmer tone, with the Tokyo market re-opening after closign due to public holidays on Monday. The Nikkei 225 traded almost +1% ahead of the close, buoying JPY crosses. NZD/USD lost the 0.87 handle in the last US session, and failed to regain the level during Asia, finding a session low of 0.8675 before a mild bounce. The rest of G10 currencies were kept in small ranges.
In other fundamental news, Japanese economic minister Amari was quoted by Kyodo, saying that Japan will decide on the controversial 10% sales tax hike by early December. Meanwhile, Japan Cabinet Office downgraded the estimates for real GDP growth to 1.2% in FY 2014/15 vs 1.4% previously expected. In China, the Conference Board Leading Economic Index came at +1.3% in June.
Main headlines in Asia
Japan govt downgrades growth expectations for 2014
RBA Stevens refrains from talking about AUD level
AUD/USD opened on a weak tone, however, it found solid bids around 0.9360 vicinity, which helped lift the pair ahead of the RBA Stevens speech, which turned out to be uneventful for AUD traders. The fact that Stevens refrained from talking down the AUD, was interpreted as bullish by the market, which bid the AUD as high as 0.9393 before a retracement back towards 0.9375-80 area.
USD/JPY traded with a firmer tone, with the Tokyo market re-opening after closign due to public holidays on Monday. The Nikkei 225 traded almost +1% ahead of the close, buoying JPY crosses. NZD/USD lost the 0.87 handle in the last US session, and failed to regain the level during Asia, finding a session low of 0.8675 before a mild bounce. The rest of G10 currencies were kept in small ranges.
In other fundamental news, Japanese economic minister Amari was quoted by Kyodo, saying that Japan will decide on the controversial 10% sales tax hike by early December. Meanwhile, Japan Cabinet Office downgraded the estimates for real GDP growth to 1.2% in FY 2014/15 vs 1.4% previously expected. In China, the Conference Board Leading Economic Index came at +1.3% in June.
Main headlines in Asia
Japan govt downgrades growth expectations for 2014
RBA Stevens refrains from talking about AUD level