The U.S. dollar and most major currencies were flatlining in early trades on Monday, barring a blip in sterling, as a Japanese holiday and a bunch of upcoming central bank meetings sucked the air out of markets. The Bank of Japan's policy meeting on Friday is the highlight of the week in Asia, after Governor Kazuo Ueda stoked speculation of an imminent move away from ultra-loose policy. In a week packed with central bank meetings, decisions are also due from the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday and Bank of England on Thursday.
SINGAPORE - The U.S. dollar and most major currencies were flatlining in early trades on Monday, barring a blip in sterling, as a Japanese holiday and a bunch of upcoming central bank meetings sucked the air out of markets.
Carol Kong, economist and currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said she expects the yen to be volatile leading up to the policy meeting.Investors may have potentially misinterpreted Ueda's comments. And the recent spell of weakness in Japanese wages and possibility prices too could soften and push the BOJ farther from its inflation goal, the case for a BOJ policy tightening is still not very strong, Kong said.
Most investors expect divergences in economic growth and in yields will keep the dollar propped up, particularly against the euro. Sterling has slid nearly 6% against the dollar since mid-July, while the euro has dropped more than 5% as the UK labour market and economy and the euro zone economy slowed.The European Central Bank raised interest rates to 4% last week but said this hike could be its last.U.S.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Marketmind: Clarion call for Bank of Japan clarityThe Bank of Japan's policy meeting on Friday is the highlight of the week in Asia, with speculation rising that policymakers may be much closer to moving away from ultra-loose policy and negative interest rates than previously thought. Rate decisions and guidance from Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia on Thursday will also be closely scrutinized, while the latest inflation figures from Japan, Malaysia and Hong Kong are on tap this week too. Wall Street's gloomy end to last week - the three main indexes fell between 0.83% and 1.56% on Friday - will cast a shadow over the Asia open on Monday, even though Asian markets ended the week on a far more positive note.
Read more »
Marketmind: Clarion call for Bank of Japan clarityBy Jamie McGeever (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist. The Bank of Japan's policy ...
Read more »
Asian markets off to a slow start in central bank packed weekAsian shares started cautiously on Monday in a week packed with central bank meetings that include the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan, which will be closely scrutinised for the global interest rate outlook. Both S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures rose 0.2% in early Asia. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.1% after gaining 1.2% last week.
Read more »
Japan startups ditch funding via stocks, to use crypto instead?Japan's forward-looking shift lets startups use cryptocurrencies instead of stocks for fundraising.
Read more »
'Everybody should just shut up': Bank of Canada's independence under pressure from political commentsSome experts are fretting about central bank's independence when it comes to monetary policy
Read more »