ForexLive Asia-Pacific FX news wrap: FX intervention from Chinese State Banks, yuan buying

• S&P and Fitch have both not changed China’s rating nor outlook
• BOJ deputy governor Himino spoke earlier: recap
• Why gold may no longer be the ideal investment for inflation hedging
• Further reports of Chinese state banks FX intervention to support yuan, selling USD/CNY
• Goldman Sachs proprietary “Panic Index” is near 0 (no one is a bear)
• BOJ dep gov Himino says will maintain easy policy until sustained stable 2% CPI achieved
• China fin min says social security fund will make direct and private equity investment
• PBOC sets USD/ CNY mid-point today at 7.1140 (vs. estimate at 7.1476)
• Yellen says not seeing signs of weakening labor market that would bring recession fears
• Australian dollar response after Q3 GDP data reveals slowest growth in 2 years
• Australian Q3 GDP +0.2% q/q (vs. expected +0.4%)
• Maduro to order the creation of oil, gas and mining licenses for the Esequibo region
• BMO launches game-changing 4X Leveraged ETNs linked to S&P 500
• BlackRock global chief investment strategist says that rate cut expectations are frothy
• Japanese manufacturers’ sentiment improves: Reuters Tankan survey
• FOMC preview: UBS predicts Fed to be cautious, need to protect progress on inflation.
• Japan considers proposal to exempt companies from tax on unrealized crypto gains
• China’s state banks stepped in to support yuan Tuesday, Moody’s downgraded China’s outlook
• Australian Industry Index contracts in November, lowest reading since June 2020
• UBS warns of diminishing CHF demand, recommends long USD/CHF position
• Private oil survey data shows headline crude build vs. the draw that was expected
• US stock indices close mixed
• Forexlive Americas FX news wrap: US job openings plunge
• Trade ideas thread – Wednesday, 6 December, insightful charts, technical analysis, ideas

After
Moody’s cut their outlook for China on Tuesday Chinese State Banks
intervened to buy CNY against US dollars. China
further
ramped up its support for the yuan again
on Wednesday, with the People’s Bank of China setting the CNY
stronger than expectations at the
daily reference rate. Of
course, this is not unusual, the Bank has been doing so for months
now. However, there was also further spot FX intervention with
reports once again of State Banks selling USD/CNY.

News
and data flow was otherwise fairly quiet. We did get the Q3 economic
growth data from Australia, which came in weak at +0.2% q/q, the
slowest in two years, vs the +0.4% consensus estimate. Growth was
supported by government spending and mining-related capex. The
Australian and New Zealand dollars moved more or less steadily higher
vs.
USD,
though, helped along by positive
global sentiment surrounding economic growth and lower rates to come.
CAD gained against the big dollar also, as did GBP. EUR is a notable
laggard, although it didn’t drop.

USD/JPY
traded higher. We had Bank of Japan deputy governor Himino speaking
today. He canvassed a change of policy ahead, talking out loud about what might happen if rates go positive, but did emphasize that
loose policy will remain until the inflation target is in sight in a
sustainable and stable manner.

Remarks
from US Treasury Secretary Yellen crossed news wires, Yellen saying
that she is not seeing signs of a weakening labour market that would
bring fears of recession, and that demand continues to power the US economy forward at trend-growth-like rates.

In
news related to oil, Venezuela’s President Venezuela said that the
Esequiba Region of Western Guyana is now an “Official” Territory
of Venezuela. He is planning to issue oil, gas and mining licenses
for the region to state-owned oil and mining companies PDVSA and CVG.

Japan is considering a proposal that would see cryptocurrencies held for purposes other than short-term trading made exempt from corporate tax based on mark-to-market valuations at the end of each fiscal year.

Bitcoin hit USD $44K: