Global Markets:
- Asian stock markets: Nikkei down 1.10 %, Shanghai Composite gained 0.65 %, Hang Seng rose 0.35 %, ASX 200 declined 0.10 %
- Commodities: Gold at $1255 (+0.20 %), Silver at $16.54 (+0.05 %), WTI Oil at $48.18 (-0.50 %), Brent Oil at $48.60 (-0.30 %)
- Rates: US 10 year yield at 1.84, UK 10 year yield at 1.46, German 10 year yield at 0.17
News & Data:
- Japan Trade Balance (Apr): JPY 823.5Bln (exp JPY 540.0Bln prev rev JPY 754.2Bln from JPY 755.0Bln)
- Japan Adjusted Trade Balance (Apr): JPY 426.6Bln (exp JPY 274.1Bln prev rev 295.3Bln from JPY 276.5Bln)
- Japan Exports (YoY) Apr: -10.1% (exp -9.9% prev -6.8%)
- Japan Imports (YoY) Apr: -23.3% (exp -19.2% prev -14.9%)
- Japan Nikkei Manufacturing PMI (May, P): 47.6 (prev 48.2)
- PBoC Fixes Yuan At 6.5455 (prev 6.5510)
- Fed's Williams: US Election Won't Stop Rate Hikes — Fox
- German FinMin Schäuble: G7 Finance Ministers More Optimistic About World Economy — RTRS
- G7 Warns Of Brexit 'Shock' To Global Economy — Mail
- UK Treasury: Britain Would Face Year Long Recession If Brexit Occurred — RTRS
- Iran Has No Plans To Freeze Oil Exports, Could Surpass Pre-Sanction Levels — RTRS
- BoJ Gov Kuroda: Have Enough Ammunition, Can Ease More As Needed — CNBC
CFTC Positioning Data:
- EUR short 23K vs 22K short prior week
- GBP short 38K vs. 35K short prior week
- JPY long 59K vs 59K long prior week
- CAD long 23K vs 26K long prior week
- CHF long 4K vs 7K long prior week
- AUD 25K long K vs. 38K long prior week
- NZD long 7K vs 9K long prior week
Markets Update:
The US Dollar weakened against most major currencies overnight. EUR/USD opened around 1.1215 and rose to a high of 1.1235 in Asia, while GBP/USD bounced off 1.4485 and made it to 1.4515 later in the session. USD/JPY came under pressure despite a rally in Asian equity markets and fell from 110.25 at the open to a low of 109.65.
The commodity currencies were bid, with the New Zealand Dollar gaining the most overnight. NZD/USD rallied from 0.6765 to 0.68, while AUD/USD climbed from 0.7220 to 0.7250. With the 0.7250 resistance level now broken, the next key levels are 0.73 and 0.7365. In NZD/USD, resistance is seen at 0.6845 and 0.6880.
Upcoming Events:
- 08:00 BST – French Manufacturing PMI
- 08:00 BST – French Services PMI
- 08:30 BST – German Manufacturing PMI
- 08:30 BST – German Services PMI
- 09:00 BST – Euro Zone Manufacturing PMI
- 09:00 BST – Euro Zone Services PMI
- 11:15 BST – FOMC Member Bullard speaks
- 13:00 BST – FOMC Member Williams speaks
- 14:45 BST – US Manufacturing PMI
- 15:00 BST – Euro Zone Consumer Confidence
- 23:45 BST – New Zealand Trade Balance
The Week Ahead:
Tuesday, May 24th
- 04:05 BST – RBA Governor Stevens speaks
- 07:00 BST – Swiss Trade Balance
- 07:00 BST – German GDP
- 10:00 BST – German ZEW Economic Sentiment
- 10:00 BST – Euro Zone ZEW Economic Sentiment
- 15:00 BST – US New Home Sales
- 15:00 BST – US Richmond Manufacturing Index
- 21:35 BST – US API Weekly Crude Oil Stock
Wednesday, May 25th
- 02:30 BST – Australian Construction Work Done
- 09:00 BST – German IFO Business Climate Index
- 09:00 BST – German IFO Business Expectations
- 13:30 BST – US Trade Balance
- 14:00 BST – US House Price Index
- 14:45 BST – US Services PMI
- 15:00 BST – Bank of Canada Rate Decision
- 15:30 BST – US Crude Oil Inventories
- 16:40 BST – FOMC Member Kashkari speaks
- 19:00 BST – FOMC Member Kaplan speaks
Thursday, May 26th
- 00:30 BST – Japan Tankan Index
- 02:30 BST – Australian Capex
- 09:30 BST – UK GDP
- 13:30 BST – US Initial Jobless Claims
- 13:30 BST – US Durable Goods Orders
- 14:00 BST – RBA Assistant Governor Debelle speaks
- 15:00 BST – US Pending Home Sales
- 19:00 BST – FOMC Member Powell speaks
Friday, May 27th
- 00:30 BST – Japan CPI
- 13:30 BST – US GDP
- 15:00 BST – US Michigan Consumer Sentiment
