GOLD: Gold Steadies, Watching Tariff Headlines.

Jan-23 04:28

 

  • The ever-evolving story of the new US President’s plans for tariffs has given gold a boost, enjoying its safe-haven status amid the uncertainty.
  • Having initially indicated that tariffs were not on the immediate agenda for China, Trump performed an about face and to add to the impending tariffs for Mexico and Canada, China and the European Union are now in his sights.
  • Tariffs can be inflationary and when paired with the potential tax cuts he has indicated, this has the potential to abruptly alter the course for Fed policy this year.
  • Gold hit new highs overnight reaching US$2,763.48 before backing off to open in Asia at $2,756.17 before heading marginally lower to $2,753.04.
  • The driving force behind gold’s advance in 2024 was the potential for interest rate cuts whereas going forward this may be overtaken by safe-haven status.

Historical bullets

FOREX: USD Modestly Higher, Yen Pares Losses Post FinMin Warning

Dec-24 01:35

Early G10 FX trends are skewed towards the USD, albeit with modest moves overall. AUD and NZD are seeing some slight underperformance (which followed some outperformance on Monday). Rhetoric around FX moves has crossed from the Japan FinMin as well. 

  • The reaction so far from USD/JPY has been limited. We were last 157.15/20, close to unchanged for the session. Earlier highs were at 157.39.
  • Japan FinMin Kato reiterated recent concerns on FX - "JAPAN FINMIN KATO: CONCERNED ABOUT RECENT FX MOVES, RTRS" "JAPAN FINMIN KATO: RECENTLY SEEING ONE-SIDED, SHARP FX MOVES" and that the authorities will take action against excessive moves.
  • USD/JPY is still sub post BoJ highs (157.93), with these comments highlighting intervention risks as we approach the holiday period. Earlier the BoJ minutes from the Oct policy meeting came and went with little market reaction.
  • AUD/USD sits down around 0.20%, last near 0.6235/40. Downside focus will rest on the 0.6199 low seen recently. The RBA minutes from the Dec meeting were out earlier. Upside risks to inflation have diminished but it was still too soon to be confident that inflation is sustainably at target.
  • NZD/USD is also lower, last near 0.5635/40. Also, still up from recent cycle lows.
  • Trends are biased in favour of the USD elsewhere, but aggregate moves are modest. In the cross asset space, US equity futures are down a touch, along with US yields, but again overall moves are modest.
  • There is little in the way of further risk events for the remainder of today's Asia Pac session. 
     

CHINA: Central Bank Drains Liquidity via OMO. 

Dec-24 01:27
  • PBOC issues CNY64.1bn of 7-day reverse repo.
  • Today’s maturities CNY355.4bn
  • Net Liquidity withdrawal CNY291.3bn.
  • The PBOC controls liquidity in the interbank market through the daily issuance of reverse repo. 
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MNI: CHINA PBOC CONDUCTS CNY64.1 BLN VIA 7-DAY REVERSE REPOS TUES

Dec-24 01:24
  • CHINA PBOC CONDUCTS CNY64.1 BLN VIA 7-DAY REVERSE REPOS TUES