Today was not an exciting day in Asia by any stretch of the imagination as currency markets were victim of tight ranges and a lack of any meaningful data or news. Traders mostly sat on their hands and waited for signals from upcoming data including the Bank of England's monetary policy minutes out of the UK, and a little further down the road, the US CPI and Building Permits data out of New York.
Regardless of the fact that the day lacked any excitement, the weak dollar theme remained in place at least in the EUR/USD as it hit a 1.4890 high which was a culmination of today's 30 pip move higher for the pair. Most other pairs were mixed against the dollar. The GBP/USD moved about in a 50 pip range between 1.6830 and 1.6780, with the net results on the day flat.
The AUD/USD caught a few early bids that sent it to 0.9315 before profit taking and a selloff in gold dropped the pair to session lows of 0.9265. After riding the rumor that China may be poised to start buying gold, the yellow metal hit a new record high just over the $1144.00 per ounce level. The air at that level proved thin as profit takers beat it back down to the $1135.00 lows over the course of the day.
US President Obama continued his foray into China today, as he met with Chinese Premier Jiabao to discuss current economic challenges between the two nations. Many kept an ear open for any comments out of this venture but were disappointed as the news and comments were sparse. USD/JPY movement was sparse as well as that pair crawled in a 25 pip range near 89.25/30 for the majority of the session. Yen crosses failed to react to softer equities across Asia.
