Forex today in Asia witnessed volatility seeping back, as full markets return after the New Year holiday break. Among the Asia-pac currencies, the Yen and Aussie both rallied, but it was the BoJ’s reduced JGBs purchases news that made the Yen the biggest gainer. The Kiwi also piggy-backed its OZ neighbor while higher Asian equities as well oil prices kept the sentiment underpinned.
Main topics in Asia
Australia: Dwelling approvals rise 11.7% in November – Westpac
Simon Murray, Research Analyst at Westpac, notes that Australian dwelling approvals rise 11.7% in November, driven by a jump in Victorian apartment approvals.
BRC: UK retailers see the biggest fall in non-food spending since 2009
The BRC said overall spending in the last three months of 2017 rose by a sluggish 1.1 percent, compared with an average annual growth rate of 1.7 percent for 2017 as a whole, as cited by Reuters.
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BoJ cuts its JGBs buying today
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) trimmed its JGBS purchases to JPY 190 bln of 10 - 25 Year JGBs in today's operation, compared to 200bn yen last time while buying JPY 80 bln 25+ Year versus 90bn last time.
Key Focus ahead
The German industrial production and trade data will be reported ahead of the European opening bells while the Swiss retail sales and Eurozone employment data will fill in an otherwise quiet EUR calendar. In the NA session, markets will look forward to the second-liner economic releases in absence of any first-tier data, with the US JOLTS job openings and Canadian housing starts in focus amid other minority reports.
EUR/USD: Corrective slide to resume below 1.1950?
The EUR/USD pair staged a brief recovery from a dip to 1.1958 levels, although remained confined within the familiar 20-pips, as investors await fresh trading impetus for the next direction.
GBP/USD: Bulls gathering pace for a test of 1.3600
The GBP/USD pair defended minor bids and hovered near the upper bound of the recent trading range near 1.3580 levels, with the bulls in search of fresh catalyst amid broad-based US dollar weakness.
Analysts at Nomura noted the forthcoming JOLTS data.
Key upcoming data for the US - Nomura
"December’s CPI and retail sales reports highlight next week’s data release schedule."
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