China: Official manufacturing PMI to drop further to 51.1 in August - Nomura

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

Analysts at Nomura offer key insights on the official August manufacturing and services PMIs from China will be released on Friday at 0100 GMT.

Key Quotes:

“We expect the official PMI to tick down further to 51.1 in August from 51.2 July.

Despite the historical average showing a 0.2 percentage point (pp) increase from July to August, high-frequency data have slowed: growth of coal consumption by six power plants was 2.9% y-o-y in August from 11.2% in July; growth of crude steel production fell to 4.2% from 5.6%, while the national blast furnace operation rate was 66.4% from 70.2%.”

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

AUD/USD consolidates above 0.7200 after hot Chinese CPI data

AUD/USD is extending its consolidative price action above 0.7200 during the Asian session on Wednesday, uninspired by hot Chinese CPI and PPI data. Meanwhile, rising RBA rate-hike bets act as a tailwind for the Aussie amid Yen-inspired US Dollar weakness. Traders await the release of US inflation figures later in the week for fresh impetus.

USD/JPY stays weak near 153.50 amid aggressive BoJ hike bets

USD/JPY attracts fresh sellers in the Asian session on Wednesday as the strong Reuters Tankan business survey adds to the case for continued BoJ policy normalisation and boosts the Japanese Yen. This, along with a broadly weaker US Dollar, keeps the pair close to a nearly seven-month low set on Tuesday.

Gold rebounds from $4,350; will it last?

Gold is rebounding from a one-week low near $4,350 in the Asian session on Wednesday. The US Dollar, however, struggles to lure buyers amid a rallying Yen, supporting the commodity as traders await the key US inflation data for a fresh impetus. However, the rebound could be short-lived amid expectations of a Fed rate hike this month.

Bitcoin takes a breather, Ethereum and XRP maintain bullish footing

Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) are trading with a broadly constructive tone on Wednesday despite BTC's mild pullback over the past two days. The Crypto King holds above $78,000; ETH and XRP remain strong above key Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), keeping their upside prospects intact.

Gold and stocks: What eight midterm elections did

I went back through every midterm election since 1994 and asked one question of each: when did the stock market make its low for the year, before the vote or after it? In seven of the eight cycles, the low came before the election. In six of the eight, it came between mid-June and mid-October, which is to say in the exact window that the "they won't let it fall" argument says is protected.

Diesel’s record $100 warning: The oil shock hiding in plain sight

The Oil market may look calmer than it did a few months ago, but diesel is sending a very different message. The US diesel crack spread, the premium of ultra-low sulphur diesel futures over WTI, recently surged above $100 per barrel for the first time, reaching an intraday record of just over $102.00.