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The EUR/USD pair regains positive traction at the start of a new week and climbs back above the 1.1600 round figure during the Asian session.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC), China’s central bank, is responsible for setting the daily midpoint of the yuan (also known as renminbi or RMB). The PBOC follows a managed floating exchange rate system that allows the value of the yuan to fluctuate within a certain range, called a “band,” around a central reference rate, or “midpoint.” It’s currently at +/- 2%.

The previous close was 7.0740

PBOC injected 107.6bn yuan via 7-day reverse repos at an unchanged rate of 1.40%

more to come

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

Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Monday that the Japanese central bank remains on track to raise interest rates further if prices and the economy continue to unfold as expected. 

On Monday, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) sets the USD/CNY central rate for the trading session ahead at 7.0759 compared to the Friday’s fix of 7.0789 and 7.0709 Reuters estimate.

Bank of Japan Governor Ueda

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Monday that the central bank remains on track to raise interest rates further if its projections for economic activity and inflation continue to unfold as expected, while stressing that any tightening would preserve broadly accommodative financial conditions.

Ueda said overseas economies have shown “some weakness” but are still “gradually increasing as a whole,” adding that the feared fallout from U.S. tariff policies has so far not materialised to a significant degree. Even so, he reiterated the BOJ’s view that global growth is likely to slow temporarily under the weight of trade measures.

He described future rate increases as a process of “easing off the accelerator” rather than hitting the brakes, arguing that Japan’s economy has been recovering moderately despite patches of softness. The likelihood of the BOJ’s baseline scenario for growth and inflation being realised is “gradually increasing,” he said.

Ueda also emphasised the importance of assessing whether firms’ active wage-setting behaviour will continue, with particular attention on the momentum heading into next year’s Shunto spring wage negotiations. He said the recent dip into negative GDP growth is expected to be temporary.

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The yen has been climbing all morning ion Tokyo ahead of this speech, and its moving higher still. Ueda does sound like a man intent on a rate hike at the December 18-19 meeting here, make you wonder how much of this was in the market prior to his speech. In the Japanese market that is. It often seems like a leaky sort of place, yeah?

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

Ireland AIB Manufacturing PMI climbed from previous 50.9 to 52.8 in November

Gold price (XAU/USD) trades in positive territory near $4,230 during the early Asian trading hours on Monday. The precious metal edges higher amid growing speculation that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) may cut interest rates in December.

The AUD/USD pair kicks off the new week on a subdued note in reaction to unimpressive China’s official PMIs released over the weekend, though the downside remains cushioned.

Japan’s manufacturing sector remained in contraction in November, though the pace of decline slowed, according to the final S&P Global PMI released Monday.

The headline index rose to 48.7,

• up from 48.2 in October
• broadly matching the flash estimate of 48.8.

While still below the 50 mark separating growth from contraction, the reading marks the slowest decline since August.

Weakness persisted across intermediate and investment-goods producers, while consumer goods showed a mild improvement. New orders continued to fall for the 30th consecutive month, reflecting subdued global conditions, tighter client budgets and muted capital investment. Automotive and semiconductor demand remained soft.

Input cost pressures intensified for a fourth straight month, driven by higher labour and raw-material expenses. Manufacturers lifted selling prices in response. Despite the current downturn, business sentiment reached a 10-month high, supported by expectations of new product launches and recovering demand, particularly in electronics and transport.

The survey noted that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recently approved ¥21.3 trillion stimulus package could help revive demand, especially in strategic sectors such as AI, though its impact will take time to filter through.

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

Australian Q3 business inventories -0.9% q/q, a bad miss

• expected 0%, prior +0.1%

Company profits -1.3%q/q, ditto on the abd miss

• expected +1.7%, prior -2.6%

Wages +1.5%q/q and sales +0.5%q/q) were better.

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Separately, ANZ-Indeed Australian job ads index -0.8% m/m for its fifth consecutive monthly decline in November

• -6.3% y/y

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