News

Gold (XAU/USD) remains depressed below the $4,000 psychological mark during the Asian session on Friday. However, the fundamental backdrop warrants some caution before positioning for an extension of the previous day’s retracement slide from the all-time peak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) knocked sharply lower on Thursday following a week-long meandering period. The Dow tumbled into the 46,300 region after opening the American market session near 46,600, knocking the major equity index down around 250 points at the closing bell.

Japanese authorities may tolerate a gradual yen decline but could intervene if the currency weakens sharply toward 160 per dollar, according to Atsushi Takeuchi, a former Bank of Japan official involved in past FX interventions.

Takeuchi told Reuters that the yen’s slide has so far been manageable, but “alarm bells will start ringing” if markets begin discussing the risk of a deeper plunge to 160 or 170. “If the yen falls that much, authorities could and must step in,” he said, adding that while intervention would not change the overall trend, it could temporarily halt excessive moves.

The comments came as the yen was headed for its steepest weekly drop in a year, trading around 153 per dollar on Friday, following Sanae Takaichi’s victory in the ruling party leadership race. Her dovish fiscal stance and emphasis on stimulus have lowered expectations for a near-term BOJ rate hike.

Takeuchi said the currency could stabilise as the US–Japan rate gap narrows, with the Fed likely to cut rates while the BOJ eventually tightens policy. But he warned that yen losses could accelerate if Takaichi appears comfortable with further weakness, despite her public remarks that the yen has both “pros and cons.”

Finance Minister Shunichi Kato also reiterated Friday that Tokyo is monitoring “excessive and disorderly” FX moves. Market participants see 160 per dollar as a key threshold that could trigger direct intervention.

—

Earlier:

• Yen intervention risk rockets higher as USD/JPY nears 155 trigger. Line in the sand?

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.

EUR/JPY remains subdued for the second successive day, following a retreat after reaching an all-time high of 177.94 in the previous session, trading around 176.90 during the Asian hours on Friday.

• ANZ expects only one more RBNZ rate cut, in November, after front-loaded easing
• US BLS recalls staff to finish CPI report, prioritising Social Security and Fed timelines
• Saudi crude exports to China seen falling as refiners chase cheaper Middle East oil
• ANZ sees oil steady near $60–65 through mid-2026, potential recovery to $70 by year-end
• Japan fin min Kato says recently seeing one-sided rapid moves (referring to the yen)
• US Tsunami Warning System: Tsunami threat after 7.4 earthquake strikes Philippines
• Fed’s Daly says inflation has come in much lower than feared
• Akazawa – Lutnick call more detail: the pair spoke for an hour
• PBOC sets USD/ CNY reference rate for today at 7.1048 (vs. estimate at 7.1329)
• Japan’s Akazawa says (again!) that US Japan trade deal implementing smoothly
• Shut down continues. US Senate to pack up for a long weekend – not back until Tuesday.
• AI growth still strong, valuations remain reasonable: boom underpinned by capex, not hype
• China’s sweeping export rules threaten US AI and chip supply chains
• Japan PPI (September 2025) +2.7% y/y (expected +2.5%)
• Citigroup expects softer US CPI, disinflation trend intact. Weaker labour, housing markets
• Bessent says he expects a rebalancing ‘soon’, where India buys less Russian oil
• Escalation – Trump to deploy US boots on the ground in Middle East, but not in Gaza
• ICYMI: NY Fed’s Williams backs further rate cuts to shore up labour market
• Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Bullock says services inflation remains a little sticky
• ICYMI – JP Morgan’s Dimon warns of looming US stock-market correction
• New Zealand September Manufacturing PMI 49.9 (prior 49.9)
• Big news – US plans to release the September CPI report data despite government shut down
• Japan – Takaichi’s stimulus vow revives debate over Bank of Japan independence
• Trump proposes to ban Chinese airlines from overflying Russia on all US flights
• A down day for the US stocks as equity markets take a breather

Financial markets in Asia traded quietly to close out the local week amid a light regional news flow. Japan’s September Producer Price Index, also known as the Corporate Goods Price Index, came in hotter than expected, though the yen reaction was muted.

Later in the session, Finance Minister Shunichi Kato delivered another round of verbal FX intervention, warning against “one-sided, rapid moves” in the currency and emphasising that exchange rates should reflect fundamentals. Tokyo’s familiar playbook, talking down volatility to deter speculation, helped the yen firm slightly.

Overnight US developments were more noteworthy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics confirmed plans to publish the September Consumer Price Index despite the government shutdown. Former BLS Commissioner Erica Groshen said data collection was completed before the shutdown began on October 1, allowing limited staff to return from furlough to finish processing the report. The CPI is unlikely to be released by the original October 15 date, but officials aim to publish it before the Federal Reserve’s October 28–29 meeting, ensuring policymakers have a key inflation reading in hand.

Meanwhile, the US Senate will be out until Tuesday evening, locking in at least four more days of shutdown unless lawmakers are recalled early.

Asia-Pac
stocks:

• Japan
  (Nikkei 225) -1%
• Hong
  Kong (Hang Seng) -1%
• Shanghai
  Composite -0.5%
• Australia
  (S&P/ASX 200) -0.1%

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.

Citing a Trump administration official, the New York Times reported on Friday that the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is calling back a limited number of staff from furlough to complete the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, despite the ongoing government shutdown.

ANZ says the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s 50-basis-point cut to the Official Cash Rate this week represents a front-loading of its earlier easing plans, rather than a shift toward a more aggressive policy stance.

The central bank’s balanced tone leaves the door open to a pause or further cuts of either 25 or 50 basis points at the next meeting in November, depending on how incoming data evolve, ANZ wrote.

The bank now expects a final 25bp reduction next month, taking the OCR to 2.25%, which it sees as the end of the current easing cycle. Risks remain “on both sides,” ANZ said — weaker data could justify a larger move, but the bar for upside surprises in activity is now relatively low, raising the possibility that the economy could start to outperform modest expectations.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.

USD/CAD moves little after reaching a six-month high of 1.4033 in the previous session, trading around 1.4020 during the Asian hours on Friday. The pair gained around 0.5% on Thursday as the commodity-linked Canadian Dollar (CAD) faced challenges amid lower crude Oil prices.