Yen firms Asia Pacific trading led regional market moves on Monday, while oil held a tight range and investors waited for delayed China data.
The yen rose for a second straight day against the dollar and traded just below 159. Traders looked past weak Japan growth data. Instead, they focused on reduced bets for a Federal Reserve rate hike this year. Broader dollar weakness also followed soft U.S. retail sales data on Friday.
Japan’s economy grew 0.3% from the prior quarter in April to June. That missed a 0.5% forecast. Annualised growth came in at 1.1%, below expectations of 2.0%, as weak capital spending and flat consumption weighed on demand.
Yen Firms Asia Pacific After GDP Miss
Despite the softer GDP reading, the Japanese currency gained ground. However, the move reflected dollar weakness more than local data. That left the market focused on U.S. rate expectations rather than Japan’s near-term outlook.
Elsewhere, Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports rose 24.2% from a year earlier in July. That was slightly below a 25% forecast. Still, it marked a fourth straight month of growth above 20%, with AI-linked electronics demand offsetting weaker non-electronics shipments.
China also remained in focus. Authorities delayed July economic data until 3 p.m. Beijing time. Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China set the dollar-yuan reference rate at 6.7873, compared with an estimate of 6.7382.
Oil Holds Steady as Iran Talks Stall
Oil prices moved in a narrow band between small gains and losses. U.S.-Iran talks remained stalled, and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continued only in trickle volumes. According to tracking firms, no tankers moved oil through the strait on Friday.
Iran kept a hard line over the weekend. Kazem Gharibabadi said on Saturday that the strait would stay closed until Washington accepts what he called its defeat. Abbas Araghchi said Iran had not decided whether to resume talks with the United States and set conditions for shipping to restart through the waterway.
Yadollah Javani said Iran’s actions so far had been defensive but could become offensive. Meanwhile, President Trump said at a Friday rally that Americans should be ready for somewhat higher gasoline prices. He also raised the possibility of eventually declaring the strait U.S. territory.
Asia-Pacific equities traded mixed, while South Korean markets were shut for a public holiday.
You can access our other news on Forex markets and global market developments here.
Source: InvestingLive
