US
political news dominated the Tokyo pre-open with Speaker of the House
of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, voted out of the position. One of
his deputies has taken on the (interim) job while jockeying for the
Speakership gets underway. There will be a vote for the position next
Wednesday, the 11th.
News
flow otherwise was light (I’ll get to the RBNZ in a moment).
USD/JPY
digested the belting it got on Tuesday in the US, where it was
smashed down to lows circa 147.30 before bouncing sharply. Japanese
administration officials including Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno, Finance Minister Suzuki, and Vice Finance Minister for International
Affairs Kanda all refused to confirm FX intervention. USD/JPY has
cautiously tip-toed just a touch higher during the session to a high
around 149.30. Kanda had talks with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida.
NZD/USD
dropped after the announcement from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand
of an unchanged cash rate target of 5.5%. While the decision was
widely forecast the statement and minutes were not quite as hawkish
as was expected. The Bank did not change their forward guidance compared to August.
China
remains on holiday. Markets on the mainland reopen on Monday next
week (the 9th).
The
Monetary Authority of Singapore confirmed a major payments
institution licence for Ripple.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.5% to a more than 4 month low.
NZD/USD fell after the RBNZ: