9 Jan 2014
Asia Recap: Sellers dominate AUD price activity
FXstreet.com (Bali) - The main takeaway from today's Asian session is that the market still aims to see a lower AUD .
The AUD ignored better-than-expected retail sales in Australia, performing another counter-intuitive move, first rebounding only to be well limited by 0.8910 area, resembling the same fake upswing seen earlier on the week on upbeat trade figures.
It was all about stop-loss hunting, and the soft Chinese CPI provided the perfect excuse to target stops below 0.8870/80, with talk of 'big' ones clustered just under 0.8850, ahead of double bottom at 0.8825, which should see plenty of stops below too. There are some options expiring for the rest of the week at 0.8900, while reports suggest 0.88 strikes with solid demand.
With regards to the Yen, it had a quiet session, with the Nikkei temporarily losing its tight correlation, as pressure in the benchmark Japanese index (around -1.6%) only seeing JPY off marginally. Market sources suggest Japanese banks buying capped the downside, while the usual battle between exporters hedging/selling and importers buying helped keep the tight range.
The rest of currencies, with the exception of the Canadian Dollar - continued to adjust its value lower on spreads and fundamentals - saw little activity, ahead of ECB and BoE monetary decisions later on the day, with especial attention shifted towards Draghi's press conference. The day after, on Friday, the Non-Farm Payrolls in the US will take center-stage for traders.
Main headlines in Asia
New Zealand building consents soar in Nov
Will Japan's new tax-free accounts stimulate risk appetite?
Qantas rating cut to junk status by Moody's
The major uncertainty facing the world is China - Soros
Australian retail sales beat estimates, building consents downbeat
Price pressures in China slightly below estimates
AUD/USD trips stops below 0.8870/80
BOK left rates unchanged, accompanying statement largely unchanged
The AUD ignored better-than-expected retail sales in Australia, performing another counter-intuitive move, first rebounding only to be well limited by 0.8910 area, resembling the same fake upswing seen earlier on the week on upbeat trade figures.
It was all about stop-loss hunting, and the soft Chinese CPI provided the perfect excuse to target stops below 0.8870/80, with talk of 'big' ones clustered just under 0.8850, ahead of double bottom at 0.8825, which should see plenty of stops below too. There are some options expiring for the rest of the week at 0.8900, while reports suggest 0.88 strikes with solid demand.
With regards to the Yen, it had a quiet session, with the Nikkei temporarily losing its tight correlation, as pressure in the benchmark Japanese index (around -1.6%) only seeing JPY off marginally. Market sources suggest Japanese banks buying capped the downside, while the usual battle between exporters hedging/selling and importers buying helped keep the tight range.
The rest of currencies, with the exception of the Canadian Dollar - continued to adjust its value lower on spreads and fundamentals - saw little activity, ahead of ECB and BoE monetary decisions later on the day, with especial attention shifted towards Draghi's press conference. The day after, on Friday, the Non-Farm Payrolls in the US will take center-stage for traders.
Main headlines in Asia
New Zealand building consents soar in Nov
Will Japan's new tax-free accounts stimulate risk appetite?
Qantas rating cut to junk status by Moody's
The major uncertainty facing the world is China - Soros
Australian retail sales beat estimates, building consents downbeat
Price pressures in China slightly below estimates
AUD/USD trips stops below 0.8870/80
BOK left rates unchanged, accompanying statement largely unchanged