News and data flow were
almost non-existent. We did get South Korean December inflation
data:
- 0%
m/m (vs. +0.2% expected and -0.5% in November) - 3.2%
y/y (vs. 3.26% expected and 3.3% in November)
It
was a subdued session for major forex rates.
The
Chinese yuan strengthened. The People’s Bank of China set USD/CNY
at 7.0827, its lowest since the end of May. Offshore yuan, USD/CNH,
hit a 6-month low. The higher yuan lent support to the AUD, which
traded in a small range to highs of circa 0.6845 against the USD, before
dribbling off just a few ticks. NZD/USD ticked higher also and hasn’t
dribbled back as much as AUD has. EUR/USD traded in a similar pattern to
AUD/USD. USD/JPY
is not a lot changed after its wild ride on Thursday.
As
a heads up, China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is
releasing December official PMIs on Sunday, December 31 (or 123123 if you prefer):
- at 0100 GMT,
2000 US Eastern time on Saturday
They really know how to throw a
NYE party that lot!