Halister News

(Bloomberg) -- Yen shrugs off more FX intervention warnings from Japanese officials to reach strongest since Oct. 2014 against the dollar, returning to levels before BOJ’s QQE.

• Malaysia’s ringgit and Indonesia’s rupiah lead Asian currencies higher as Bloomberg Dollar Index slips for second day after Fed minutes show policy makers aren’t rushing to raise rates
• Yen gains for fifth day against dollar; hit 109.16
  • There have been one-sided moves in FX market; will take necessary action if needed on FX, Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga says
  • Japanese investors were net sellers of 1,555.1b yen ($14.2b) in foreign bonds during week ended April 1, largest amount since period ended June 12, 2015
  • BOJ will check risks, add stimulus if needed: Governor Kuroda
  • Recent yen strength resulted in USD/JPY unwinding all gains that emanated from additional QQE in Oct. 2014; see chart
• China raises reference rate for first time this week
  • Data today will show foreign reserves dropped to $3.20t in March, lowest since December 2011 and from $3.23t in February, according to Bloomberg survey
• U.S. Treasuries little changed, with yield on 10-year bonds at 1.753% in Asian trading after climbing 4bps yday
  • U.S. initial jobless claims due today; est. 270,000 for week ended April 2 vs 276,000 prior week: Bloomberg survey
• Aussie advances for second day against dollar before Australia’s March foreign reserves data due
  • RBA Assistant Governor Kent said late yesterday it’s still too early to gauge labor market’s strength; weaker employment growth was expected following strength in Oct. and Nov.
  • Performance of Construction Index fell to 45.2 in March, lowest since February 2015
• Won little changed; rate cuts in South Korea have supported consumption through the “wealth effect” of boosting property prices, easing debt burdens and increasing future income: BOK board member Ha wrote in a paper for the Korean Economic Association last month
  • Economy back on recovery track: Finance Ministry’s Lee
• Rupiah snaps three-day drop; Indonesia plans to raise non- taxable personal income by 50%, Investor Daily Indonesia reports, citing Finance Minister Brodjonegoro
• Peso gains; Philippines government expenditure will support economy, which is still expected to grow as much as 7.8% this year: Economic Planning Secretary Esguerra
  • January budget balance data due later; Dec. budget showed a deficit of 75.1b pesos ($1.6b)
• Taiwan’s dollar snaps two-day drop; March CPI rose 2.00% vs 2.41% in February, est. 1.4%