ForexLive Asia-Pacific FX news wrap: Waiting for the non-farm payroll report (NFP)

• China May trade data: USD denominated exports +7.6% y/y (beat) and Imports +1.8% (miss)
• Stellar line up of ECB speakers Friday – Lagarde, Schnabel, Holzmann
• China small and medium-sized banks have lowered their deposit rates
• FOMC official Cook speaks Friday – won’t be of interest to traders
• PBOC sets USD/ CNY mid-point today at 7.1106 (vs. estimate at 7.2430)
• Japan finance minister Suzuki says will take action against excessive FX moves
• AUD traders heads up ICYMI – RBA Deputy Governor Hauser to speak on the economic outlook
• Japan data shows April household spending fell from March, down 1.2% m/m
• JP Morgan says a big miss, or beat, on the US jobs report (NFP) could flip the narrative
• New Zealand data: Manufacturing sales fell in Q1, down 0.4% q/q (prior -0.6%)
• Deutsche Bank’s Back To The Future NFP preview, longest low unemployment run since 1950s
• ANZ expect the first Reserve Bank of New Zealand rate cut in February 2025 (prior May ’25)
• US jobs numbers due Friday – Non-farm payrolls preview
• JP Morgan says its Fair Value Model has EUR/USD at 1.10
• Forexlive Americas FX news wrap 6 Jun: ECB cuts rates but it is a hawkish cut.
• ECB’s Holzmann dissented on the rate cut
• ICYMI – the ECB cut rates by 25bp and leaves the future path unclear
• US stocks end the day with mixed results/little changed
• Trade ideas thread – Friday, 7 June, insightful charts, technical analysis, ideas

Major
FX rates tracked relatively subdued ranges while traders awaited
the US jobs report due Friday morning US time.

Locally
here the focus was on Chinese trade data for May, which showed
exports accelerating well ahead of expectations, but imports slumping
below expectations. The patchy recovery continues in China, some
sectors performing well (export-focused, as shown today) and others
not (domestic demand related).

Earlier
we had April household spending from Japan. The m/m fell from March
while the y/y rose for the first time in 14 months. We await further
clarity from Japanese economic data for signals that wage rises are
promoting consumer demand. The Bank of Japan meet next week and it
would seem too early for them to decide to tighten a little further,
but there are plenty of whispers that they’ll do just that. After
two or so years of such whispers failing us (they were finally
correct in March, to be fair) I’m wary.

Japan’s
finance minister Suzuki was
on the newswires with regular sort of verbal intervention remarks.
USD/JPY has risen a touch on the session.

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