Despite Goldman Sach’s upward revision to the iron-ore price-forecast and upbeat Australian PPI numbers, the Aussie remained under heavy selling pressure in Asia today, emerging the biggest loser. The Kiwi followed suit and traded near daily lows of 0.7363, as mixed NZ macro news failed to impress.
The sell-off in the Asia-pac currencies, including Yen, was also mainly driven by broad-based US dollar rebound, as markets cover USD shorts ahead of the US NFP report. Meanwhile, the Yen traded volatile, although on the back foot, in the wake of the BoJ headlines and higher Treasury yields.
Across the commodities’ space, oil prices traded with modest gains while gold steadied near the $ 1350 barrier. Copper prices on Comex remained better offered near $ 3.21 levels.
Main topics in Asia
BOJ increases purchases of bonds maturing in 5-10 years
BOJ increases the purchase of JGBs with 5-10 years to maturity to JPY 450 billion from previous JPY 410 billion.
Goldman Sachs ups iron-ore price forecast to $ 85/ MT in next 3 months
In its latest research note, the analysts at Goldman Sachs revised higher its price-forecast for iron-ore, citing a jump in the Chinese steel demand to emerge the key driver.
BOJ official - Rise in JGB purchases adhering to policy of keeping 10Y yield near 0%
Comments from BOJ official are crossing the wires via Reuters.
The UK secretly considering a customs union deal with the EU - FT
The Financial Times (FT) quoted three unnamed UK officials with the knowledge of the discussions, citing that the Brexit advisers to the UK PM Theresa May are secretly considering whether Britain could strike a customs union deal covering trade in goods with the EU.
US 10Y T-yield jumps to highest since April 2014
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note almost touched 2.8 percent; the highest level since April 2014 on evidence the inflation is rising.
Key Focus ahead
Today’s economic calendar remains light, with the exception of the release of the UK construction sector activity report and Eurozone PPI data. Moving on, the NA session is likely to steal the limelight, with the key US payrolls and wages data to garner a lot of attention. Also, in focus will remain the US factory orders and revised UoM consumer sentiment data, which will wrap up the FOMC/NFP week.
EUR/USD - Highest daily close since Dec. 2014, what's next?
EUR/USD closed above 1.25 for the first time since Dec. 2014. The bid tone around the EUR strengthened reportedly due to the news that some ECB officials are calling for a clearer interest rate guidance.
GBP/USD barreling towards 20-month highs ahead of UK PMI, US NFP
GBP/USD has been relentless, carving out gains for three straight days and is determined to reach new 20-month highs just beyond 1.4345.
US: Expect a 170,000 increase in nonfarm payrolls - HSBC
HSBC’s analysts are out with the much-awaited preview of the US non-farm payrolls data, which will be reported later on Friday at 1330 GMT.
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