RBA offers to buy up to A$5 bln of government bonds in first round of QE

Ross J Burland FXStreet

Reserve Bank of Australia said it will buy up to A$5bln of government bonds in the first round of QE.

Key notes

Says offers to buy bonds with maturity between 2 years and 8 years.
Says offers to buy govt bonds maturing July 2022, April 2023, Nov 2027 and May 2028.

Meanwhile, The National Australia Bank ltd announces sweeping support package for business and personal customers.

Key notes

National Australia bank ltd - Home loan customers experiencing financial challenges will also be able to pause their repayments for up to six months.
National Australia bank ltd - NAB will cut 200bps from rate on new loans.
National Australia bank ltd - Will reduce variable rates on small business loans by 100bps, effective March 30.
NAB - Business customers experiencing financial difficulty can defer payments on range of floating & variable rate business loans for up to 6 mths.
National Australia Bank announces reductions of up to 60bps to fixed rate home loans.

AUD/USD action

since AUD/USD falls 1% in early Asia, AUD/USD has recovered and run to a fresh high of 0.5785, going from -1% to now +0.75%.

Author

Ross J Burland

FXStreet

Ross J Burland, born in England, UK, is a sportsman at heart. He played Rugby and Judo for his county, Kent and the South East of England Rugby team.

USD/JPY eyes August swing low, near 155.20 ahead of US NFP

USD/JPY retests the August monthly swing low during the Asian session on Friday as a more hawkish repricing of BoJ rate-hike bets and a suspected intervention continue to underpin the Japanese Yen. Meanwhile, the US Dollar is seen consolidating the previous day's heavy losses amid soft US bond yields, further weighing on the currency pair as traders keenly await the US NFP report.

AUD/USD consolidates above 0.7200; US NFP awaited

AUD/USD holds steady above 0.7200, near its highest level since mid-May, as bulls await the US NFP report for more cues on the Fed's policy path before placing fresh bets. Meanwhile, the recent decline in US bond yields keeps the US Dollar depressed near its lowest level in over a week and acts as a tailwind for the Aussie amid the RBA's hawkish tilt.

Gold bulls seem hesitant below $4,500 amid modest USD bounce ahead of US NFP

Gold remains on the defensive below the $4,500 mark through the Asian session, snapping a two-day winning streak amid a modest US Dollar uptick. The commodity, however, remains close to the weekly high, which it touched the previous day, as traders keenly await the release of the closely watched US monthly employment details. The popularly known US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report will provide more cues about the Fed's policy path amid receding bets of a September rate hike.

Crypto’s $638 million buyback boom may not be as bullish as it looks

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols reportedly spent $638 million to buy back their native tokens in August, up 17% from a year earlier. On the surface, the buyback trend suggests the cryptocurrency industry is maturing fast, adopting one of Wall Street’s oldest tools to bolster valuations and distribute revenue. The headline becomes less impressive once the number is opened up.

US August Nonfarm Payrolls expected to rebound to 58K after July slump

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release the Nonfarm Payrolls data for August on Friday at 12:30 GMT. Investors expect NFP to rise by 58K in August following July’s unexpected print of -23K. The Unemployment Rate is seen holding steady at 4.1%.

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.