Market Roundup
- Australia Private Sector Credit for Nov plus 0.4% (plus 0.6% expected)
- Australia Housing Credit for Nov plus 0.6%
- Singapore November Bank Lending S$603.9 Bln-Central Bank Data
- Singapore November Housing And Bridging Loans at S$184.3 Bln versus S$176.2 Bln Year Earlier -MAS Data
- PBOC sets Yuan mid-point at 6.4936 / dlr vs last close 6.4902 - higher than expected
- Indonesia C.Bank Says Banks Required To Create Counter-Cyclical Capital Buffer Of 0-2.5 Pct Of Risk-Weighted Assets
- Indonesia C.Bank Gov Says Sees Y/Y Inflation At Slightly Above 3 Pct At End 2015
Economic Data Ahead
- (0300 ET/0800 GMT) Turkey Trade Balance
- (0330 ET/0830 GMT) Hong Kong Money Supply M3
- (0400 ET/0900 GMT) Czech Republic M2 Money Supply
- (0500 ET/1000 GMT) Malaysia Money Suppy
- (0530 ET/1030 GMT) India Fed Fiscal Deficit
Key Events Ahead
No Major Events Scheduled
FX Beat
USD: The dollar rallied against commodity currencies such as the Norwegian crown and Russian rouble on Wednesday after declining oil prices weighed on the currencies of oil-dependent economies. The dollar hit a more than 1-year high against the Russian currency at 73.62 roubles and against the Norwegian it hit 8.834 crowns, its highest level in at least 13 years. It also gained against the Swedish crown and Canadian dollar. The dollar index, was last up 0.15 percent at 98.255.
EUR/USD: Euro largely rangebound on the day after rising around 0.11 percent against the greenback to 1.0943 on Wednesday. Traders who had bet against the euro for much of this year on the view that lower interest rates in the euro zone compared with the United States would weigh on the currency reversed those bets, which buoyed the euro. Currently the pair is trading flat in the session at 1.0930, down by 0.01%, after having touched sessions low of 1.0918 levels. It trades between the range of 1.0937 - 1.0918. Immediate support is seen at 1.0916 levels (10- DMA), break below can take the pair to 1.0901 (Previous Day Low). On the upside, the pair faces resistance at 1.0939 (5- DMA).
USD/JPY: The dollar consolidates against the Yen after 3 straight sessions of gains. The pair currently trades at 120.41 levels, down by 0.07%, after having touched a daily high of 120.58 levels. Trading is thin as many traders are reluctant to take new positions heading into the new year. Resistance is located at 120.63 levels (Dec 28 High), break above can take the pair to 120.76 (Oct 22 High). On the downside, immediate support is located at 120.35 levels (Previous Day Low).
AUD/USD: Upside in AUD/USD likely capped around 0.73 levels. Currently the pair trades at 0.7303 levels, after going as low as 0.7268 levels. Immediate support is seen at 0.7265 (Oct 15 Low). On the upside, resistance is located at 0.7316 (Oct 14 High), break above can take the pair to 0.7335 (Dec 1 High). Against the kiwi, it fared better as it was up by 1.6 percent. The Australian dollar extends gains, after having bounced from a low of 0.7095 hit earlier this month. It was supported from a tentative recovery in prices of iron ore, the country's top export earner. For the year, the aussie is seen set to end sharply lower against their U.S. peer and could remain under pressure in the new year if commodity prices remain weak.
NZD/USD: The New Zealand dollar was a tad weaker at $0.6842 on Thursday ahead of a four-day holiday weekend. It gained ground at the year end, from a 6-year low below 61 cents. The kiwi has come under pressure this year on falling commodity prices, sluggish economic growth and diverging interest rates between them and the United States. The pair currently trades at 0.6849 levels, after having touched sessions low of 0.6832 levels. It trades between the range of 0.6850 -0.6832. Immediate support is seen at 0.6830 (Previous Day Low), while on the upside, resistance is located at 0.6853 (Dec 28 High). Break above can take the pair to 0.6865 (Oct 23 High).
USD/CNY: The yuan has come under renewed pressure since late November amid speculation that Beijing would permit more depreciation after the International Monetary Fund announced the currency's admission into the fund's basket of reserve currencies. The onshore yuan traded in Shanghai has lost 1.44 percent of its value since the end of November, and has repeatedly hit 4-1/2 year lows. The offshore market has traced a similar pattern. The Hong Kong-traded offshore yuan hit an intraday low of 6.5965 on Wednesday morning, its weakest since late September 2011.
Equities Recap
Holidays limited the damage in Asian markets on Thursday with many either closed or shutting early. Japan was one of the markets off on Thursday, though it was also one of the better performers this year with gains of almost 10 percent.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed but set to end the year 12 percent lower. China's Shanghai Composite index and CSI300 were both changed on Thursday and it had the region's best performing emerging market indexes in 2015, with the former set for a gain of 10.5 percent and the latter 6.6 percent.
New Zealand's Index was the best-performing Asia-Pacific developed market, with gains of 13.5 percent, while Singapore Index was the worst, with a 14 percent loss.
Commodities Recap
Gold was changed on the last trading session of the year, but looked set to post its third straight annual loss, undermined by a robust dollar and prospects of higher U.S. interest rates. Spot gold edged up 0.2 percent to $1,062.50 an ounce by 0331 GMT on Thursday. Volumes were thin ahead of the new year holiday on Friday.
Crude prices held losses after falling more than 3 percent in the previous session, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures trading around $36.70 per barrel at 0300 GMT on Thursday and Brent crude also erased earlier gains to trade up 0.1 percent at $36.55, after a 3.5 percent drop in the previous session. It's set for a slump of 35 percent for 2015. U.S. crude futures gave up gains in early Asian trade to stand flat at $36.58 a barrel, after a drop of 3 percent the previous session. They are on track for a 27 percent loss this year.
Treasuries Recap
U.S. 10-Year Treasuries yield stood at 2.2943 percent.
Australian government bond futures were off multi-week highs, with the 3-year bond contract steady at 97.990. The 10-year contract eased 4 ticks to 97.1500, while the 20-year contract was unchanged at 96.6500.
New Zealand government bonds eased, sending yields 1.5 basis points higher at the short end and half a basis point higher at the long end.
Canadian government bond prices were mixed across the maturity curve, with the benchmark 10-year flat to yield 1.407 percent and the 2-year price up 2 Canadian cents to yield 0.489 percent. The curve steepened, as the spread between the 2-year and 10-year yields widened 1.3 basis points to 91.8 basis points, indicating underperformance for longer-dated maturities. The Canada-U.S. 10-year spread was changed at -89.8 basis points,
