9 Apr 2015
Solid Aussie, BoE up next
FXStreet (Bali) - The Aussie finished the Asian session as the best performer, with the Japanese Yen the main lager in what has been a low key affair amid a vacant calendar.
Key headlines in Asia
Australian construction index for March reveals solid improvement
New Zealand PM Key: History shows currency intervention not successful
Main themes in Asia
AUD/USD traded initially lower, moving from 0.7690, where major sell limit blocks capped the topside, all the way down to test the 0.7660 key support, origin of a sharp 40 pips move higher to test and hold around the 0.77 handle now.
USD/JPY kept pressing higher, recovering from prices sub 120.00 as a result of yesterday's BOJ unchanged policy decision, which led to some of the short yens being liquidated before having been now reinstated, to now stay at the macro level 120.30/40, an sticky resistance as per recent failures.
NZD/USD replicated the moves seen in the Aussie, with an early pullback met with buying interest, for a return back above 0.7550. Jim Langlands, Founder at FXCharts, mentioned that in the absence of any major NZD data, 7520/0.7600 range should serve as a guide for trading today.
Heading into Europe
UK trade figures and the Bank of England monetary policy announcement will be the focal point of attention during European morning hours.
Paul Hollingsworth, Economist at Capital Economics, suspects that UK February’s trade figures "may show that January’s sharp narrowing in the trade deficit was partly due to one-off factors as about one third of the fall in January was due to a reduction in the trade in oil deficit, but this may have been partly reversed in February as oil prices rebounded."
Meanwhile, as per the Bank of England interest rate announcement (12.00 BST), Paul notes: "It looks set to be another uneventful one. Indeed, with inflation set to turn negative soon and to hover around zero for most of the rest of this year, it seems the MPC will sit on its hands until it is confident that deflation is not becoming ingrained."
Key headlines in Asia
Australian construction index for March reveals solid improvement
New Zealand PM Key: History shows currency intervention not successful
Main themes in Asia
AUD/USD traded initially lower, moving from 0.7690, where major sell limit blocks capped the topside, all the way down to test the 0.7660 key support, origin of a sharp 40 pips move higher to test and hold around the 0.77 handle now.
USD/JPY kept pressing higher, recovering from prices sub 120.00 as a result of yesterday's BOJ unchanged policy decision, which led to some of the short yens being liquidated before having been now reinstated, to now stay at the macro level 120.30/40, an sticky resistance as per recent failures.
NZD/USD replicated the moves seen in the Aussie, with an early pullback met with buying interest, for a return back above 0.7550. Jim Langlands, Founder at FXCharts, mentioned that in the absence of any major NZD data, 7520/0.7600 range should serve as a guide for trading today.
Heading into Europe
UK trade figures and the Bank of England monetary policy announcement will be the focal point of attention during European morning hours.
Paul Hollingsworth, Economist at Capital Economics, suspects that UK February’s trade figures "may show that January’s sharp narrowing in the trade deficit was partly due to one-off factors as about one third of the fall in January was due to a reduction in the trade in oil deficit, but this may have been partly reversed in February as oil prices rebounded."
Meanwhile, as per the Bank of England interest rate announcement (12.00 BST), Paul notes: "It looks set to be another uneventful one. Indeed, with inflation set to turn negative soon and to hover around zero for most of the rest of this year, it seems the MPC will sit on its hands until it is confident that deflation is not becoming ingrained."