Higher US tariffs on China on the way?

Forex and Bitcoin News for Asian Negotiations Wednesday, August 1, 2018

The news of the day was centered on US proposals to raise tariffs on Chinese imports from 10% to 25%. Please note that these are only proposals at this stage. But, having said that a constant mantra my mantra was not to underestimate President Trump, so keep an eye on this subject.

It certainly did not take too much noise the market a bit. AUD / JPY hit the headlines, as did the offshore yuan. The PBOC followed with another upward move for the onshore yuan, bringing it back to its lowest benchmark since May 2017 (vs. USD).

The ramifications of the Bank of Japan "drop a lot, a lot, a lot more" (my interpretation of the announcement of its policy of yesterday) has continued to cross the markets here today. The USD / JPY is exchanged overnight and has not retreated at all today. JGB yields continue to threaten higher.

In terms of data, we obtained a report on T2 jobs in New Zealand, with a higher than expected unemployment rate, offset by an increase in employment and continued growth in employment. wages (not too strong, of course). NZD was a bit sweet on the results.

Elsewhere it was mainly lower level data. One of South Korea's manufacturing PMI, which may have exceeded expectations, continued its "contraction" for a fifth consecutive month. South Korea is often referred to as "canary in the coal mine" for the global economy. After five months of deterioration, this canary has long since grown daisies but I guess today 's data shows no signs of resurrection for the poor creature.

The EUR has lost a few ticks today (versus the USD), just like the GBP. The CHF was underperforming, however, USD / CHF up 20 points or more during the time zone (OK <not a big blow but hey, his Asia!).

AUD, NZD the two weakest. USD / CAD is little changed.

Still to come: