Latest update April 24th, 2018 11:33 AM
Friday 26th August: European Open Briefing
Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Nikkei down 0.55 %, Shanghai Composite gained 0.60 %, Hang Seng rallied 0.50 %, ASX 200 fell 0.25 %
- Commodities: Gold at $1327 (+0.15 %), Silver at $18.59 (+0.50 %), WTI Oil at $47.30 (-0.20 %), Brent Oil at $49.55 (-0.90 %)
- Rates: US 10 year yield at 1.56, UK 10 year yield at 0.57, German 10 year yield at -0.07
News & Data:
- Japanese CPI (YoY) Jul: -0.4% (est -0.4%, prev -0.4%)
- Japanese CPI ex Fresh Food (YoY) Jul: -0.5% (est -0.4%, prev -0.4%)
- Japanese CPI ex Food, Energy (YoY) Jul: 0.3% (est 0.4%, prev 0.5%)
- Tokyo CPI (YoY) Aug: -0.5% (est -0.4%, prev -0.4%)
- Tokyo CPI ex Fresh Food (YoY) Aug: -0.4% (est -0.4%, prev -0.3%)
- Tokyo CPI ex Food, Energy (YoY) Aug: 0.1% (est 0.3%, prev 0.4%)
- PBOC Fixes Yuan Reference Rate at 6.6488 (prev 6.6602)
- Fed’s Williams: Fed will continue to keep the economy running hot – RTRS
- Fed’s Fischer: Fed board discussing issue of overheating economy – RTRS
- Fed’s Kaplan: Fed should hike in gradual and patient manner – BBG TV
- Fed’s George wants to raise short-term rates to around 3% over next two or three years
- Asia stocks tentative, dollar slips before Yellen's rates signal – RTRS
- As central bankers gather, some at Fed make interest rate rise case – RTRS
Markets Update:
Several Fed members were speaking overnight, but there was not much of a reaction in FX. Traders are waiting for Fed Chair Yellen’s speech at 15:00 BST (London time) today and whether she will provide any hints about a rate hike this year.
Overall, the US Dollar weakened slightly overnight, with the New Zealand Dollar the best performing currency. NZD/USD rose from 0.7290 to 0.7315 and similar price action was seen in AUD/USD, which made it from 0.7600 to 0.7635. USD/CAD declined from 1.2940 to 1.2905, party under pressure due to the rise in Oil prices yesterday.
Flows were light in the other major pairs as well. EUR/USD traded 1.1278-93 range, while GBP/USD consolidated between 1.3185 and 1.3215. USD/JPY came under pressure ahead of the Tokyo open and fell from 100.60 to 100.40, but was able to bounce from there and settled around 100.50 for the rest of the session.
Aside from the speech by Fed Chair Yellen, there will be also a fair amount of data releases, most notably UK and US GDP. Please see the calendar below for further details.
Upcoming Events:
- 07:00 BST – German GfK Consumer Climate
- 07:45 BST – French GDP
- 09:00 BST – Euro Zone M3 Money Supply
- 09:30 BST – UK GDP
- 13:30 BST – US GDP
- 15:00 BST – Fed Chair Yellen speaks
- 15:00 BST – US Michigan Consumer Sentiment
- 20:30 BST – CFTC Positioning Data
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