More shots were fired in the China/US trade wars, with Trump criticising the Chinese failure to purchase US soya beans, threatening increased sanctions on Chinese imports. This ongoing battle is likely to continue, until the two economic superpowers can resolve the overriding issues and possible sit-down at the looming APEC summit. Chinese inflation, both CPI and PPI, fell further into ‘deflationary territory’, while exports and imports gathered pace. The US Dollar eased, despite the disruptions, with the EUR bouncing off 1.1600, while the GBP jumped back towards 1.3400.
The easing in the reserve allowed the commodity currencies to stabilise, with the AUD regaining 0.6500, while the NZD held 0.5700. Local markets will be focused on Australian Unemployment data and NZ Food inflation numbers.
