Markets trade sideways on lack of fundamentals. US Dollar in the driving seat
- Australia AIG Construction Index 50.7 vs. 52.1 previously
- ANZ Job advertisements m/m 1.3% vs. 0.3% previously
- Japan Leading indicators 102.9% vs. 102.9%
- German industrial production m/m 0.2% vs. 0.8%
- Swiss foreign currency reserves 563bn vs. 525bn previously
- Eurozone Sentix investor confidence 15.7 vs. 17.2
- BoJ Governor Kuroda speech
Later
- BoE Governor Carney speech
- US Labor market conditions index
- US Consumer credit
- New Zealand manufacturing sales
The markets opened today after Friday’s payrolls report which saw the US Dollar coming under pressure despite a broadly positive jobs report. The US unemployment rate remained steady at 5.0% while the average monthly payrolls increased more than expected to 211k along with upside revisions to October jobs report. The US Dollar sold off however, but managed to regain some of the lost ground late into Friday’s session and is currently the top performing currency at the time of writing.
The Asian equity markets were performing moderately strong with the Nikkei 225 up 0.99% for the day while the Hang Seng was lower at -0.15% for the day. The AUDUSD is down sharply by -0.85% with the currency posting losses since the opening session. Prices are currently trading near a 3-day low at 0.7275. Economic data from Australia today included the AIG Construction index which came out weaker at 50.7 while the ANZ Job advertisements increased 1.3% for the month.
The NZDUSD was also weaker down -1.21% for the day in a prolonged decline since the open, after prices touched a 4-week high last Friday as speculators scale back their bullish bets ahead of the RBNZ interest rate decision due this week.
The Japanese Yen was mixed in today’s session with USDJPY up 0.24% though a new high after Friday’s choppy trading. But the Yen was strong against the Aussie and the Kiwi dollars including the Euro and the Canadian dollar.
The European trading session was quiet with the German industrial production data being the main event. Industrial production increased at a slower than expected pace of 0.2% below estimates of 0.8%. The Euro continued its soft pullback since last Thursday’s ECB led rally. EURUSD is down -0.55% trading below Friday’s low at 1.081.
The British Pound is trading modestly better in comparison, with GBPUSD losing -0.28% for the day, trading near 1.506. There were no major releases from the UK today but BoE Governor Carney is due to speak at an event later this evening which could be the main event risk.
The Swiss Franc was weaker today with the USDCHF up 0.51% at the time of writing. The Franc is expected to weaken into the SNB’s meeting this week where further rate cuts are likely to be announced by SNB Governor, Thomas Jordan.
WTI Crude Oil prices continued their slump since Friday’s OPEC announcement that there were no cuts to production. Oil is down -2.49% trading below the $40 handle. The decline in Crude Oil has put pressure on the USDCAD which is now up 0.61%, trading near yearly highs of 1.346.
The remainder of the evening is marked with no major events with the exception of BoE Carney’s speech, US Consumer credit and manufacturing sales.