Talking Points:
- Aussie and NZ Dollars Fall, Yen Gains as Risk Aversion Grips Asian Markets
- Currencies to Look Past German, UK Data with Sentiment Trends in Focus
TheAustralian dollar underperformed in overnight trade, falling as much as 0.8 percent on average against its leading counterparts. The move tracked a drop in futures on Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 stock index, pointing to risk aversion as the catalyst behind the impetus to sell the sentiment-linked currency.
The broader MSCI Asia Pacific regional benchmark equity index declined 0.7 percent, pulling the risk-geared New Zealand dollar downward and boosting haven demand for the Japanese Yen. The former currency lost as much as 0.4 percent while the latter advanced 0.6 percent against the majors.
The economic calendar is relatively quiet in European trading hours. UK Industrial Production and German Trade Balance figures are tap, but the outcomes seem unlikely to stir meaningful volatility for the British pound or the Euro considering their limited implications for near-term BOE and ECB monetary policy.
On balance, risk appetite trends seem likely to remain at the forefront. S&P 500 futures are pointing decidedly lower in late Asian trade, hinting sentiment may remain under pressure in the hours ahead. That is likely to translate into continued gains for the Yen as well as outsized losses for commodity-bloc currencies.
