Yen Tumbles on Fiscal Concerns

AUD

AUD opens losing 40 basis points on the USD and relatively flat across the other major currencies, off the back of mixed economic signals in the United States. A mixed day for Asian equities saw the Shenzhen trade +0.5%, the Hang Seng -0.7% and Nikkei unchanged. The ASX 200 shed -0.3%, as consumer discretionary and communication services sectors fell by -1.2% and -1.1%. Yesterday, we saw no data out of China due to continuing Public Holiday, however, the Japanese Yen has tumbled since Sanae Takaichi’s leadership victory in Japan on Saturday. Takaichi, who is expected to become Japan's next prime minister, has pledged to boost the Japanese economy with aggressive spending and has been critical of the Bank of Japan's interest rate hikes. Aussie saw Westpac Consumer Sentiment and ANZ Job Advertisements m/m miss at -3.5% and -3.3% respectively. Today, we see little to no data out locally.
 

USD

AUDUSD opens weaker at 0.6578, off the back of mixed economic signals in the United States weakening the Aussie. A soft session on Wall St. saw the Nasdaq trading -0.7%, the S&P 500 -0.5%, and the Dow Jones -0.3% late in the North American session. Yesterday, the US Government shutdown continues as president Trump called the democrats shutdown strategy a ‘kamikaze attack’ and states ‘there’s nothing left for them to negotiate on’, suggests no end in sight.
 

EUR

AUDEUR opens flat at 0.5644 with little defensive data, the pair have traded relatively flat to open the week. Eurozone equities closed with both the DAX and CAC flat at 0.0%. Yesterday, France’s trade balance improved +€0.3 billion to -€5.8 billion. Overnight, President Lagarde spoke. We’re due to see no major data for the rest of the week in the Euro Zone.
 

GBP

AUDGBP opens the day flat at 0.4900 off the back of no data or news between the currency pairs after Gov Baileys speech in Scotland on Tuesday morning. The FTSE closed flat at 0.0% alike European equities. Today, the UK sees no currency impacting data and nothing is expected until next Thursdays GDP m/m.
 

NZD

AUDNZD opens relatively flat at 1.1340 after a day of no data. Today all eyes are on The Cash Rate decision at 12pm, where they’re expected to cut 25 basis points to 2.75% off the back of their last monetary policy statement indicating of two further 0.25% cuts being necessary. No major data expected for the Kiwi for the rest of the week.