The Reserve Bank of Australia building in Sydney, Australia, on Monday, Sept. 6, 2021.David Gray | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesFutures in the Asia-Pacific
The Reserve Bank of Australia building in Sydney, Australia, on Monday, Sept. 6, 2021.
David Gray | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Futures in the Asia-Pacific pointed to a mixed open Tuesday ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s rate decision.
The Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 27,705 while its counterpart in Osaka was at 27,660. That compared against the Nikkei 225’s last close at 27,619.61.
In Australia, SPI futures were at 6,839, slightly lower than the S&P/ASX 200’s last close at 6,852.20.
The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to raise interest rates by a half point to 2.35%, according to a poll by Reuters. The Australian dollar was slightly stronger at $0.6814 in morning trade.
On Monday, the People’s Bank of China announced it would cut the foreign exchange reserve requirement ratio, or the amount of FX reserves that financial institutions must hold, to improve the ability of financial institutions to use foreign exchange funds.
Starting Sept. 15, the RRR will be 6%, down from 8%.
“This cut should help increase FX liquidity and thus lower depreciation pressure for CNY. While the actual impact on FX liquidity is small … this cut serves as a strong policy signal that the PBOC is uncomfortable with the rapid depreciation of the currency,” analysts at Goldman Sachs Economics Research wrote in a note late Monday.
U.S. markets were closed overnight for a holiday.
In oil markets, Brent crude rallied nearly 3% following news that OPEC and its allies agreed to a small production cut. U.S. crude rose more than 2%.
www.cnbc.com