The main economic news during the Asian session was out of Australia, with various headlines and data giving the Aussie a roller-coaster ride.
Australian retail sales were better-than-forecast, lifting the AUDUSD to an early session high of $0.9133. Then the Reserve Bank of Australia knocked aussie lower. Even though rates were kept on hold as expected at 2.5%, the RBA statement that the currency value is ‘still uncomfortably high,’ caused a sell-off. After tumbling to $0.9056, aussie bounced to end the session at $0.9090.
USDJPY moved higher to a fresh 6-month high of 103.11 yen by the end of Asian session trading and continued higher as the European session came around. The Tokyo Nikkei was also slightly up by 0.6%, closing at 15,750 points. Again, the main cause of yen weakness continues to be loose Bank of Japan monetary policy.
The euro fell after it hit $1.36 on Monday and was unable to sustain such a high level, prompting profit-taking especially on the back of soft factory activity data for Spain and France. ECB decision on Thursday will be keenly watched. EURUSD ended in Asia at $1.3551.
Australian retail sales were better-than-forecast, lifting the AUDUSD to an early session high of $0.9133. Then the Reserve Bank of Australia knocked aussie lower. Even though rates were kept on hold as expected at 2.5%, the RBA statement that the currency value is ‘still uncomfortably high,’ caused a sell-off. After tumbling to $0.9056, aussie bounced to end the session at $0.9090.
USDJPY moved higher to a fresh 6-month high of 103.11 yen by the end of Asian session trading and continued higher as the European session came around. The Tokyo Nikkei was also slightly up by 0.6%, closing at 15,750 points. Again, the main cause of yen weakness continues to be loose Bank of Japan monetary policy.
The euro fell after it hit $1.36 on Monday and was unable to sustain such a high level, prompting profit-taking especially on the back of soft factory activity data for Spain and France. ECB decision on Thursday will be keenly watched. EURUSD ended in Asia at $1.3551.
