Forex Today: Aussie ignores Aus jobs & China data, Eyes on UK retail sales
Asia today cheered some positive news from the Aus docket, lifting the AUD/USD pair to 0.7870 levels, before reversing sharply on mixed Chinese data dump, with the Q3 GDP figures falling a tad short on expectations. The Kiwi too followed suit and tested 0.71 handle, eagerly awaiting the announcement on the new government. Meanwhile, both the EUR and GBP regained poise amid stalled USD recovery, as sentiment soured towards Asia close amid mixed equities and weaker oil prices.
Main topics in Asia
North Korea could stage an unimaginable strike on the US
A report from Yonhap (South Korean Press) says North Korea could stage an unimaginable strike on the US.
UK PM Theresa May urged to walk out if the EU wont talk trade - Telegraph
The UK’s newspaper, Telegraph, published a story earlier on the day, citing that the UK PM Theresa May urged to walk out if the EU agree on trade talks.
Australia full-time job growth slows, unemployment rate drops in September
The seasonally adjusted data released this Thursday showed the Australian economy added 19.8K jobs in September, beating the estimated rise of 15.0K.
China Q3 GDP y/y a tad weaker, but meets estimates
China's YoY GDP figures for the third quarter of 2017 came at +6.8% vs +6.8% exp and 6.9% previous, with the QoQ reading for Q3 coming in at +1.7% vs +1.7% exp and +1.8% (revised up from 1.7%) last.
Key Focus ahead
Looking ahead, the EUR, GBP traders brace for the critical UK retail sales data, which will have a major impact on Cable and EUR/GBP, as it is the only macro news up for release from the EUR calendar data. From the US docket, the weekly jobless claims and Philly Fed manufacturing index will remain in focus. However, the main event to watch out today is the Brexit/EU Summit for fresh developments on the Brexit negotiations.
GBP/USD - Will UK retail sales help defend 50-day MA ahead of Brexit summit?
GBP/USD rebounded from the 50-day moving average on Wednesday, although the uptick ran out of steam in Asia at a high of 1.3228.
EUR/USD headed back towards 1.1735/30 support?
Having failed to sustain at higher levels, the EUR/USD pair trimmed gains to test the 1.18 handle amid broad based US dollar recovery in sync with Treasury yields.
Brexit/ EU Summit: What to expect? - HSBC
HSBC analysts offer their thoughts on what to expect from the 2-day EU Summit starting today, with the agenda mainly centered on the Brexit negotiations.
NZ First to make announcements today? - ANZ
Analysts at ANZ noted that today is supposedly the day that NZ First will make an announcement on the formation of the next government.
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.
