Week in FX Asia – China Manufacturing Expands

HSBC released their preliminary Manufacturing Index for China this week. The reading was very encouraging as output is above the 50 point threshold which signals an expansion. This indicator was the main reason while the world enjoyed a positive stock market rally and the EUR gained versus the USD during the United States Thanksgiving holiday break.

Japanese exports fell 6.5 percent in October, marking a fifth straight falling numbers. The territorial dispute with China drove exports to that nation by more than 10%. The European crisis has also reduced demand for Japanese good as exports to that region fell by 20%. The Yen was stronger in October than what we have seen in November. Japan needs a weaker Yen to recover a competitive advantage that will boost exports and Japanese companies earnings.

USDJPY

USDCNY

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WEEK AHEAD

  • JPY Bank of Japan Releases Minutes
  • EUR Eurogroup Budget Meetings
  • EUR Greek Debt Agreement Summit
  • GBP Gross Domestic Product
  • USD Consumer Confidence
  • EUR German Consumer Price Index
  • CHF Gross Domestic Product
  • EUR German Unemployment Change
  • USD Gross Domestic Product
  • EUR Euro-Zone Unemployment Rate
  • CAD Gross Domestic Product

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.

Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza