ForexLive Asia-Pacific FX news wrap: USD/JPY sitting just above 157.00

• Goldman Sachs “base case is for the RBA to start easing in November 2024”
• Federal Reserve speakers on Friday include Governor Waller – preview
• RBNZ Dep Gov Hawkesby: Cutting interest rates is not part of near term discussion
• European Central Bank speakers on Friday include Schnabel and de Cos
• RBNZ Assistant Governor Silk says concerned about near term inflation risks
• Heads up reminder – Monday is a US market holiday – here is what is open and when
• PBOC sets USD/ CNY mid-point today at 7.1102 (vs. estimate at 7.2539)
• Yellen and Lagarde to meet on Friday
• CHF traders – Swiss National Bank Chair Jordan is on the speaking calendar Friday
• Japan CPI data for April 2024 – all three measures come in lower than in March
• UK data – May Consumer confidence -17 (expected -18)
• New Zealand April Annual trade balance -10.11bn NZD (prior -9.98bn)
• ICYMI – UBS raise its S&P 500 forecast as high as 5600, 4 reasons for support
• Japan’s new widowmaker trade – long yen
• New Zealand data – ANZ Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence (May 2024) 84.9 (prior 82.1)
• JP Morgan on UK CPI (risk tilted to upside) say BoE may not be able to ease at all in 2024
• Social media reports that US SEC approved listing of spot ETH ETFs
• Forexlive Americas FX news wrap 23 May: USD reversed higher after stronger S&P/Global PMI
• Goldman Sachs expect a Bank of England 25bp rate cut in August (previously tipping June)
• Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in the US stock market
• Trade ideas thread – Friday, 24 May, insightful charts, technical analysis, ideas

It
was a subdued session in Asia. The USD strength seen on Thursday,
and lower ‘risk’, showed very little retracement at all. The US
is on holiday on Monday, and the bond market closes early on Friday
there ahead of it. It seems Asia traders decided to shut down
even earlier.

The
focus for the session here was on Japanese inflation data for April.
The CPI measures cooled for a second month in a row but all three of
the major measures remained above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target
level. While this is good news for the BOJ on the face of it, the
concern is that its still ‘cost-push’ inflation. While the yen
remains a weakling that might be here for some time to come. BOJ
policymakers are keen for inflation to transition into ‘demand-pull’
but sustainable domestic demand is a long time coming and consumption
levels remain weak.

ps.
If you are wondering about ‘cost-push’ and ‘demand-pull’ I
have a really quick explanation here (economics texts will offer more
if that’s what you are after).

USD/JPY
has not done a lot today. Its traded in a small range only straddling
157.00.

Across
other major FX its been small ranges also. Mainland
China and Hong Kong stocks are down again.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.