The RBA and BOJ both delivered as expected and traders are having to digest that now ahead of European trading. Both the Australian dollar and Japanese yen are dragged lower following the respectively policy decisions. And it is the US dollar that is holding firmer across the board now.
AUD/USD is down 0.7% to 0.6515 as traders start to consider bets of an RBA rate cut, with the first one locked in for September. The odds of an August move though are at ~74% so that can’t be ruled out either. Meanwhile, USD/JPY is up over 0.8% now to 150.35 as the yen continues to suffer from a sell the fact play.
With 10-year Treasury yields still sitting at the highs for the year, the dollar is keeping steady so far in trading this week. The greenback is marginally higher against the European currently, though the ranges there remain fairly narrow. The gains are mostly from against the yen, aussie and kiwi thus far.
US futures are more muted, so that isn’t leaving much else to work with. As such, the focus will stay on the post-RBA and post-BOJ reactions as we look towards the session ahead. All that before we get to the Fed tomorrow.
Looking to the session ahead, the only notable release is the ZEW survey for March in Germany. But that should just reaffirm sluggish economic conditions at present with Q1 set to remain a drag for Europe’s largest economy. There’s also euro area Q4 wages data but this is the labour cost index release from Eurostat. And that is different to the negotiated wages data from the ECB as seen here.
0700 GMT – Switzerland February trade balance data
1000 GMT – Eurozone Q4 wages, labour costs
1000 GMT – Germany March ZEW survey current conditions, outlook
I wish you all the best of days to come and good luck with your trading! Stay safe out there.