Forex Exchange Morning Report

Daily Forex Fundamentals | Written by Westpac Institutional Bank | Jul 21 08 01:17 GMT |

News And Views The offshore FX session was very quiet Friday night. The main news was equity related - a better than expected earnings report from Citigroup (although still a loss, with $8bn in writedowns) saw Dow futures up from a low of -100pts to +50pts pre market open. This was largely given back in the first half hour of cash trading but eventually the Dow closed higher. USD made reasonable gains on some crosses from this but price action was not as striking as in bond markets, where Treasuries yields rose steeply. The New Zealand dollar found little inspiration from this, the pair easing from around 0.7640 to close NY at 0.7612. The Australian dollar was also rather underwhelmed, trading a 0.9702/0.9739 range, perhaps softened slightly at the margin by falling commodity prices. USD/JPY was more directional than most pairs, pressing firmly higher from 106.35 to 106.95, boosted by the third consecutive day of gains on Wall Street and talk of hedge funds being stopped out of short positions. EUR/USD dipped on the Citi earnings but buyers emerged ahead of 1.5800. 'Sources' stories revealed some hawkish ECB chat, helping the euro. No US data to report. Bank of Japan minutes. The minutes of the meeting of June 12 and 13 indicate essentially symmetric policy risks adding up to stable rates for quite some time. The Board is convinced that the economy will slow but not contract, and that prices will rise, but not by a damaging amount. Canadian leading index flat in June. The index’s recovery from a very weak Q1 in April and May lost momentum last month, mainly due to renewed weakness in the factory and housing components. Separately, wholesales sales grew by 1.6% in May, with about half of that gain due to higher prices. Euroland trade deficit €1.5bn in May. Higher oil prices have wiped out the trade surplus of the last couple of years. In Germany, producer prices accelerated to 6.7% yr in June, the fastest pace since the early 1980s, again due to energy prices. UK budget blowout in prospect. Public sector net borrowing was £3bn higher in June this year than last year, so after just three months of the 2008 FY, borrowing is up almost £10bn or 66% on last year. Even before the figures were reported, the press was speculating that the government would break its own fiscal rules in the pre-budget report due later this year, to allow further borrowing, considered preferable to raising taxes as the economy slips closer to recession. Other data showed a sharp increase in bank lending last month, as other forms of finance dried up. Outlook We continue to like NZD/USD lower multi week especially on a TWI basis. However, last week’s stronger than expected CPI release should hold off further rate cut expectations for now, hence the NZD is likely to range trade ahead of this week’s RBNZ meeting. Events Today Date Country Release Last Forecast 21-Jul NZ Jun External Migration ann. 4,930 5,000 Jun Electronic Card Transations 0.6% – Jun Credit Card Transactions –1.1% – Aus Q2 PPI %qtr 1.9% 1.20% Jun New Motor Vehicle Sales –1.6% flat US Jun Leading Index 0.1% –0.2% UK Jul Rightmove House Prices %yr 0.1% – 22-Jul US Jul Richmond Fed –12 –8 May House Prices –0.8% –0.6% Fedspeak: Plosser Jpn May All-Industry Activity Index 0.80% 0.40% Westpac Institutional Bank http://www.wib.westpac.co.nz/ Disclaimer All customers please note that this information has been prepared without taking account of your objectives, financial situation or needs. Because of this you should, before acting on this information, consider its appropriateness, having regard to your objectives, financial situation or needs. Australian customers can obtain Westpac's financial services guide by calling +612 9284 8372, visiting www.westpac.com.au or visiting any Westpac Branch. The information may contain material provided directly by third parties, and while such material is published with permission, Westpac accepts no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any such material. Except where contrary to law, Westpac intends by this notice to exclude liability for the information. The information is subject to change without notice and Westpac is under no obligation to update the information or correct any inaccuracy which may become apparent at a later date. Westpac Banking Corporation is regulated for the conduct of investment business in the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority. © 2004 Westpac Banking Corporation. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. The forecasts given in this document are predictive in character. Whilst every effort has been taken to ensure that the assumptions on which the forecasts are based are reasonable, the forecasts may be affected by incorrect assumptions or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. The ultimate outcomes may differ substantially from these forecasts.