Forex Today: Sees subdued Thanksgiving activity; eyes on Eurozone CPI
Amid lingering US-China trade uncertainty and Hong Kong unrest, the risk sentiment remained tepid in Black Friday’s quiet Asian trading. The Asian equities traded on the back foot, led by the declines in Hang Seng while the Wall Street futures also incurred moderate losses. The US dollar was on the defensive across its main competitors amid a lack of fresh catalysts and Thanksgiving holiday-mood dull trading. Gold, on the other hand, recovered some ground but remained below the 1460 level.
Across the fx board, thin trading ranges persisted, as markets refrained from placing any directional bets amid trade tensions and monthly closing. USD/JPY was flatlined around 109.50, having faced rejection at higher levels amid BOJ Governor Kuroda’s comments. The Aussie attempted a tepid bounce towards 0.6780 region while the Kiwi traded better bid near 0.6430 following upbeat ANZ New Zealand Consumer Confidence gauge. Meanwhile, USD/CAD traded firmer and neared 1.33 handle amid weaker oil prices.
Both the European currencies, EUR/USD and GBP/USD cheered broad-based US dollar weakness but the gains were limited heading into a busy EUR docket.
Main Topics in Asia
Japanese data dump, headline CPI: +0.8 PCT YoY (beats 0.4% expected/prior)
UK Business confidence in economy on the rise - The Times
Japan Economic Minister Nishimura: Will make continued efforts to support consumption
Fitch cuts its outlook on Japanese insurers to ‘Stable’
S. Korean TradeMin: S. Korea-Japan trade talks likely in December
BOK’s Lee: Today’s rate decision was not unanimous one member called for a rate cut
BOJ’s Kuroda: BOJ to guide policy with easy policy bias given the overseas downside risks
China protests US law supporting Hong Kong but signals hope for trade deal - WSJ
Key Focus Ahead
We have a relatively busy Friday’s EUR calendar, in light of the Thanksgiving and Black Friday light trading anticipated. The Retail Sales and Employment data is due out of Germany at 0700 GMT and 0855 GMT respectively while a slew of minority reports will be published from the UK at 0930 GMT. The key event of note in Europe remains the Eurozone Preliminary Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Jobless Rate data, dropping in at 1000 GMT. Also, in focus remains the Indian growth numbers due at 1200 GMT, which will be closely eyed by the INR markets.
The Canadian Q3 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Industrial Production data will headline a holiday-subdued NA session, as US traders will be operating half time. Markets also await fresh developments on the US-China trade front, as Hong Kong is likely to see large-scale protest rallies, this time on social media, this weekend.
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Key economic data on Black Friday – Rabobank
The Rabobank Research Team offers a brief preview of the key economic events due on the cards this Black Friday.
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OPEC, OPEC and more OPEC will be what oil markets will be all about next week
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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.
