The Japanese Yen and the US Dollar made some small strides today in what was at best, a slow day in Asia. Many traders are using precaution ahead of the upcoming results of the US ''Stress Tests'' for 19 financial institutions, amidst rumors that the results might not be as good as previously hoped for. This bode well for the Dollar and the Yen, both acting as safe haven islands in the proverbial economic storm.
USD/JPY, although in a 65 pip range, tilted lower from the 98.70ish open to near 98.30 levels by sessions end, thus strengthening the Yen. The Dollar made some gains against its European counterpart, as EUR/USD, in a 50 pip range, traded from an open of 1.2950ish to 1.2940 by session's end. EUR/JPY clearly showed the flight from risk as it dropped from 127.89 highs to just near 126.75 in the course of the day. The Yen was also boosted by an unexpected trade surplus in March. The victim of the day was clearly the Australian Dollar, as CPI came in at 0.1% as opposed to the expected 0.5%, thus showing that inflation was lower than expected and potentially paving the way for the possibility of further rate cuts by the RBA down the road. The AUD/USD dropped almost 90 pips from 0.7118 highs to just under 0.7030 lows while the AUD/JPY slid from .7007 highs to drop under 69.00 by just one pip. Be prepared for a bunch of UK data later on in the London session.
Upcoming Economic Data Releases (London Session):
| 4/22 | 7:00 | EC | EU Parliament Debates Financial Regulation, Crisis Response | 22-Apr | ||
| 4/22 | 8:30 | UK | Claimant Count Rate | MAR | 4.60% | 4.30% |
| 4/22 | 8:30 | UK | Jobless Claims Change | MAR | 116.0K | 138.4K |
| 4/22 | 8:30 | UK | Avg Earnings inc bonus 3M/YoY | FEB | 1.40% | 1.80% |
| 4/22 | 8:30 | UK | Avg Earnings ex bonus 3M/YoY | FEB | 3.40% | 3.50% |
| 4/22 | 8:30 | UK | ILO Unemployment Rate (3mths) | FEB | 6.70% | 6.50% |
| 4/22 | 8:30 | UK | Public Finances (PSNCR) | MAR | 18.0B | 4.4B |
| 4/22 | 8:30 | UK | Public Sector Net Borrowing | MAR | 15.5B | 9.0B |
| 4/22 | 8:30 | UK | M4 Money Supply (MoM) | MAR P | 1.20% | 1.40% |
| 4/22 | 8:30 | UK | M4 Money Supply (YoY) | MAR P | 19.20% | 18.70% |
| 4/22 | 8:30 | UK | Bank of England Releases Minutes of Interest Rate Decision | 22-Apr | ||
| 4/22 | 9:00 | EC | Euro-Zone Govt Debt/GDP Ratio | 31-Dec | - - | 66.30% |
