Forex news for Asia trading Tuesday 22 August 2017

USD/JPY was a mover here in Asia today, higher during the Tokyo morning. It finished the US session in a choppy 108.80/90 sort of range before popping higher, above 109 then 109.10 , consolidating there and then adding to its gains towards 109.30 where it has so far halted. There are reported stop loss buyers clustered above 109.50, something to be aware of should we approach there.

There was some movement in other currencies in the early part of the USD/JPY gain, AUD/USD popped toward 0.7950 but has since given back all of its (admittedly small) gain.

Elsewhere EUR/USD has traded a small range, trying circa 1.1820 and then slipping back to under 1.1810. The CHF is a little weaker against the USD also, but again a small range; above 0.9630 as I update. Cable found selling ahead of 1.2910 and is under 1.2890 as I post - a small range here also.

USD/CAD is little net changed on the session while NZD/USD is near its session low. Gold is off a few dollars.

The People's Bank of China set the CNY mid-rate against the USD at its strongest since September 22 last year.

News and data flow was light, the focus (if there was one) was US President Trump's speech on Afghanistan strategy (see bullets above).

Regional equities:

  • Nikkei +0.21%
  • Shanghai +0.15%
  • HK +1.07%
  • ASX +0.35%

Still to come: