Back
23 Jan 2015
Asia Recap: Dust settles after ECB fireworks
FXStreet (Bali) - Following some very lively action during the early Asia/late US, with USD breaking key levels against main peers, it was a quiet affair for the remaining of the session, with G10 FX space entering an accumulation phase as the market digests full-blown QE by the ECB, which exceeded both size and length.
AUD/USD was under extreme pressure in the first hour of trading in Sydney, with specs main suspects behind the acceleration below 0.8035 year low, leading to a brief drive sub 0.80 before a bounce towards 0.8050. The latest 20 odds pips from today's Asia correction were courtesy of an upbeat China HSBC PMI for Jan, coming at 49.8 vs 49.6 expected, a 0.2p surprise factor which was not enough to deter committed sellers, awaiting at today's pivot point to reset short positions for a potential resumption of the bear trend.
USD/JPY was once again rejected by 118.80/85 (option, specs, exporters main sellers), as the pair continues to successfully defended the area since last lost on Jan 12th. The Nikkei 225 tracked US equities higher, rising just under 1% ahead of the close, keeping USD/JPY not far from mentioned key resistance. NZD/USD was stuck near 0.7520 resistance after an early recovery off 0.7483 new year lows. EUR/JPY, after collapsing post ECB, held key intraday support at 134.30. GBP/USD was another big mover in late US, breaking below 1.50.
Main headlines in Asia
Japan Nomura/ JMMA Manufacturing Purchasing Manager Index rose from previous 52 to 52.1 in January
China HSBC PMI prints 2-month, still below 50.00
News of Saudi King’s death
AUD/USD was under extreme pressure in the first hour of trading in Sydney, with specs main suspects behind the acceleration below 0.8035 year low, leading to a brief drive sub 0.80 before a bounce towards 0.8050. The latest 20 odds pips from today's Asia correction were courtesy of an upbeat China HSBC PMI for Jan, coming at 49.8 vs 49.6 expected, a 0.2p surprise factor which was not enough to deter committed sellers, awaiting at today's pivot point to reset short positions for a potential resumption of the bear trend.
USD/JPY was once again rejected by 118.80/85 (option, specs, exporters main sellers), as the pair continues to successfully defended the area since last lost on Jan 12th. The Nikkei 225 tracked US equities higher, rising just under 1% ahead of the close, keeping USD/JPY not far from mentioned key resistance. NZD/USD was stuck near 0.7520 resistance after an early recovery off 0.7483 new year lows. EUR/JPY, after collapsing post ECB, held key intraday support at 134.30. GBP/USD was another big mover in late US, breaking below 1.50.
Main headlines in Asia
Japan Nomura/ JMMA Manufacturing Purchasing Manager Index rose from previous 52 to 52.1 in January
China HSBC PMI prints 2-month, still below 50.00
News of Saudi King’s death