The first Asia session of the week kicked off with the much anticipated Japanese election results heavily weighing in the backdrop.
JPY was bid right out of the gate, with USDJPY opening 30+ pips to the downside from Friday's close. EURJPY saw similar pressure after closing Friday around the 133.80s area, the pair traded mostly one way through Asia, giving up over 100+ pips. After a half hearted attempt of a rally midway through the session in JPY crosses, sellers swiftly came back in, landing the knockout punch.
Even though the market mainly focused on news of the historic Japanese election, second tier data did trickle out of Japan.
Manufacturing PMI, Preliminary Industrial Production, and Retail Sales all coming out better than expected.
Ahead in the upcoming London session, traders will be looking to see if these drastic Yen gains are sustainable. Traders will likely be in for a lightened session, with the United Kingdom out on holiday.
Upcoming Economic Data Releases (London Session) prior expected
| 8/31/2009 | 5:00 | JN | Housing Starts (YoY) | JUL | -32.40% | -30.30% |
| 8/31/2009 | 5:00 | JN | Annualized Housing Starts | JUL | 0.749M | 0.766M |
| 8/31/2009 | 5:00 | JN | Construction Orders (YoY) | JUL | -28.00% | - - |
| 8/31/2009 | 5:30 | JN | BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa to Speak in Osaka | 31-Aug | ||
| 8/31/2009 | 9:00 | EC | AUG | -0.70% | -0.30% |
