After an amazing drop in NY where USD/JPY went from 90.15 to 87.10 (a 13 year low), due to an expiring option, the moves in Asia were lackluster to say the least as the pair ended the session a bit lower after chugging around in a range between 88.60 and 89.55. Whispers in the markets were heard stating that the BOJ would draw a line in the sand at 85.00, but that level was far from where we traded today. EUR/JPY's chart looked similar to USD/JPY, but started the session at highs and traded between a broader range of 116.79 and 114.86. As expected, the BOJ kept rates unchanged today at 0.10% as well as cut CPI and growth expectations.
The British Pound still sails in perilous waters despite a nice high of 1.4022 early on comments by the French Economy Minister stating the BoE should take more action to support the currency. The high was short lived as the pair hit subsequent lows of 1.3833, and finished Asia at 1.3900ish.
The EUR/USD remains tethered to the whims of the crosses, and saw its early peak of 1.3067 erased as the crosses reacted to positive equity markets in Asia, eventually hitting a 1.2943 low before entering Europe trading near 1.3000. With no major data in Europe today look to early US trading for Canadian Retail Sales, US Housing Starts, and Initial Jobless Claims.
Upcoming Economic Data Releases (London Session):
| 1/22/2009 | 3:00 | JN | BOJ Target Rate | 22-Jan | 0.10% | 0.10% |
| 1/22/2009 | 7:45 | FR | Consumer Spending (MoM) | DEC | 0.30% | -0.20% |
| 1/22/2009 | 7:45 | FR | Consumer Spending (YoY) | DEC | 1.00% | -0.60% |
| 1/22/2009 | 10:00 | SZ | ZEW Survey (Expectations) | JAN | -76.2 | -77.5 |
| 1/22/2009 | 10:00 | EC | Industrial New Orders SA MoM | NOV | -4.70% | -5.00% |
| 1/22/2009 | 10:00 | EC | Industrial New Orders YoY | NOV | -15.10% | -20.00% |
| 1/22/2009 | 11:00 | UK | U.K. CBI Quarterly Industrial Trends Total Orders | 22-Jan |
