In This Article:
Earlier in the Day:
It was a busy day on the economic calendar through the Asian session this morning.
The Japanese Yen, Kiwi Dollar and Aussie Dollar were all in action once more in the early part of the day.
Inflation and industrial production figures out of Japan, building consent figures from NZ and private sector credit numbers out of Australia provided direction early on in the day.
On the geopolitical front, the markets continued to wait out for China’s reaction to Trump’s signing of the HK Bill.
For the Kiwi Dollar
Building consents fell by 1.1% in October, month-on-month, partially reversing a 7.5% jump in September. Economists had forecast a 2.5% slide.
According to NZ Stats,
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The decline was attributed to a drop in the number of apartments consented. Stand-alone houses rose by 7.3% in the month, reversing a 4.6% fall in September.
The Kiwi Dollar moved from $0.64181 to $0.64184 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Kiwi Dollar was up by 0.02% to $0.6421.
For the Japanese Yen
Tokyo’s core annual rate of inflation picked up to 0.6% in November, which was in line with forecasts. In October, the core annual rate of inflation had stood at 0.5%. According to consumer price figures released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication,
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Prices for furniture and household utensils (+2.8%), for clothes and footwear (+2.1%), and culture and recreation (+2.1%) provided support.
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There were also increases in prices for housing (+0.6%), medical care (+0.8%), and transportation and communication (+0.1%).
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A 0.4% fall in prices for fuel, light, and water and a 6.1% slide in prices for education weighed.
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Miscellaneous prices also hit reverse, falling by 1%.
The Japanese Yen moved from ¥109.513 to ¥109.519 upon release of the figures that preceded industrial production figures.
In October, industrial production tumbled by 4.2%, month-on-month, reversing a 1.7% rise in September. Economists had forecast a 2.1% slide.
According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry,
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Industries that mainly contributed to the decline were:
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Motor vehicles.
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General-purpose and business orientated machinery
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Production machinery.
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Industries that mainly contributed to an increase were:
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Electronic parts and devices.
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Petroleum and coal products.
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Ceramics, stone and clay products.
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The Japanese Yen moved from ¥109.515 to ¥109.526 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen was flat at ¥109.51 against the U.S Dollar.
For the Aussie Dollar
Private sector credit rose by just 0.1% in October, following on from a 0.2% increase in September. Economists had forecast a 0.3% rise, however.