Yen Rallies, Renminbi and Aussie Dollar Await Key Data

Here’s this week’s overview of the Renminbi, Japanese Yen, and Australian Dollar:

Renminbi

In China, we saw the Renminbi appreciate to 7.25 against USD last week. It managed to recover slightly against the broadly weaker US dollar last week.

Yet, the latest news out of the Chinese economy has been far from positive, with nearly every report pointing to economic woes.

A slew of economic reports due to be released on Monday will be key readings, with growth, industrial production, house prices and unemployment all in focus.

Japanese Yen

The Japanese Yen ended the week trading at 158.1 against the US Dollar, a much-needed boost for the struggling currency.

A suspected FX intervention from the Bank of Japan triggered a sharp snap back in the currency on Thursday, moving it away from a weak point of around 160 against the dollar. While the Ministry of Finance failed to confirm that intervention took place, the nature of the move makes it clear that dollar selling took place, in what was a widely-expected move.

Attention will soon shift to the Bank of Japan, which will be unveiling its latest policy decision at the end of the month.

Australian Dollar

The Australian dollar gained a touch under 0.4% against the US Dollar to trade at 0.678 on Friday.

There were no major data releases in the past week, with the rally in the currency perhaps stunted by negative sentiment around the Chinese economy.

All eyes this week will be on employment data this Thursday. Markets are expecting another positive employment change number and, if confirmed, this could see the Aussie climb to a 2024 high.