ForexLive Asia-Pacific FX news wrap: Small ranges only here in Asia

• US news – Volkswagen announced an 11% salary hike for production workers
• US trading hours for Friday: Stock market closes early
• ECB President Christine Lagarde and Vice President Luis de Guindos among speakers Friday
• RBNZ meet next week, expected to hold the cash rate steady despite high & sticky inflation
• Wall Street Journal on new, more hawkish, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Bullock
• PBOC sets USD/ CNY reference rate for today at 7.1151 (vs. estimate at 7.1440)
• Japanese inflation remains above the BOJ’s target, sparking speculation of a policy change
• Japan preliminary November PMIs: Manufacturing 48.1 (expected 48.8)
• UK GfK Consumer Confidence data for November comes in at -24, beating even worse estimates
• Japan October inflation data remains well above the BOJ’s 2% target
• Australia news ICYMI – Workers on BHP’s iron ore railway drop plans for industrial action
• RBC Capital Markets predicts a record high for the S&P 500 in 2024, bull case circa 5300
• Taiwan says an Australian naval ship sailed through the Taiwan Strait
• New Zealand government formed, Foreign and Finance Ministers announced
• New Zealand Q3 retail sales 0.0% change q/q (expected -0.8%)
• Trade ideas thread – Friday, 24 November, insightful charts, technical analysis, ideas
• Socrates Launches Groundbreaking Social Media and Entertainment Platform for Web3 Users
• Forexlive Americas FX news wrap 23 Nov: European shares higher. EU PMI data mostly higher.

It
was a very subdued day across major FX markets here in Asia in the
wake of the Thanksgiving holiday in the US. Flows were barely
existent with many traders and investors happy to take an extended
long weekend break. Ranges were small only.

We
didn’t have any news of significance hitting although we did get
the latest update on inflation from Japan. The core consumer price
index (CPI excluding fresh food) rose from 2.8% y/y in September to
2.9% in October, its first acceleration in four months, but missing the
consensus estimate of 3.0%. At 2.9% this is the indicator’s 19^th
consecutive month above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target.

Yes,
19 months. And
yet still the Bank tells us inflation is transitory and they want to
see evidence of demand-pull factors to make inflation sustainable and
stable – i.e. wage gains at the next round of wages talks in
Springtime.

The
narrower measure of inflation (the core-core index that excludes
fresh food and fuel costs and is the closest to the US ‘core’
measure of inflation) rose 4.0% in the year to October. Its been above
4.0% for seven straight months).

The
Bank of Japan next meet on December 18 and 19. As I said, the Bank is
waiting on wage talks in Spring and thus there are basically zero
expectations of any significant pivot from the Bank at this December
meeting.