Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Nikkei down 0.40 %, Shanghai Composite gained 0.05 %, Hang Seng fell 1.20 %, ASX 200 declined 0.80 %
- Commodities: Gold at $1262 (+0.70 %), Silver at $17.68 (+1.00 %), WTI Oil at $49.80 (-0.75 %), Brent Oil at $51.50 (-0.65 %)
- Rates: US 10 year yield at 1.74, UK 10 year yield at 1.04, German 10 year yield at 0.06
News & Data:
- China Trade Balance (USD) Sep: 41.99B (est. 53.00B, prev. 52.05B)
- China Exports (YoY) (USD) Sep: -10.0% (est. -3.30%, prev. -2.80%)
- China Imports (YoY) (USD) Sep: -1.9% (est. 0.60%, prev. 1.50%)
- Bank of Korea leaves rates unchanged at 1.25% as expected
- Australia Consumer Inflation Expectations Oct: 3.7% (prev. 3.30%)
- New Zealand ANZ Consumer Confidence (MoM) Oct: 1.6% (prev. 2.80%)
- New Zealand REINZ House Sales (Sep, YoY): -9.5% (prev -3.10%)
- New Zealand ANZ Job Advertisements (MoM) Sep: 0.3% (prev. 3.20%)
- New Zealand Business NZ Manufacturing PMI Sep: 57.7 (prev. 55.1)
- UK RICS House Price Balance Sep: 17% (est. 14%, prev. 12%)
- Fitch say that Australia housing slump is a greater credit risk to the country than that posed by China
- PBOC sets USD/CNY mid-point at 6.7296 (prev. fix 6.7258, prev. close 6.7200)
- Asia stocks stumble as weak China trade data raise growth concerns – RTRS
- China September exports fall more than expected, imports back in contraction – RTRS
- BOJ likely to cut inflation forecasts, wary of easing: sources – RTRS
Markets Update:
While the release of the FOMC minutes was a non-event, the US Dollar continued to strengthen in Asia. EUR/USD is trading close to 1.10 and a break seems imminent. Meanwhile, GBP/USD resumed its decline as it fell from 1.2210 to 1.2160. The risk-off sentiment weighed on USD/JPY as well, which dropped from 104.60 to 103.60.
The commodity currencies are under renewed pressure as AUD/USD broke below 0.7530 support. While the Australian Dollar has been resilient in the past few trading days, the break sub-0.7530 signals that further losses are ahead and that it could test 0.7440 support soon. Meanwhile, NZD/USD was relatively quiet as it traded within a 0.7035-70 range overnight.
Upcoming Events:
- 07:00 BST – German CPI
- 13:30 BST – US Initial Jobless Claims
- 13:30 BST – Canadian Housing Price Index
- 16:00 BST – US Crude Oil Inventories
