In This Article:
Earlier in the Day:
It was a relatively busy day on the Asian economic calendar in the earlier hours of this morning.
The Japanese Yen was in focus, with December inflation, industrial production, and retail sales figures providing direction. Industrial profit figures out of China were also in focus this morning.
On the geopolitical front, positive sentiment towards trade provided early support to the Aussie dollar and Kiwi dollar, which managed to avoid a holiday sell-off.
For the Japanese Yen
Tokyo’s core annual rate of inflation picked up to 0.8% in November, which was better than a forecast of 0.6%. In October, the core annual rate of inflation had stood at 0.6%. According to consumer price figures released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication,
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Prices for clothes & footwear (+3.1%), furniture & household utensils (+3.0%), and culture and recreation (+2.8%) provided support.
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There were also increases in prices for housing (+0.5%), medical care (+0.9%), and transportation & communication (+0.9%).
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Partially offsetting rising prices, however, were price falls for education (-6.1%) and fuel, light, & water charges (-0.7%).
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The annual rate of inflation came in at 0.9%, with food prices rising by 2.1% year-on-year. In October, the annual rate of inflation had stood at 0.8%.
The Japanese Yen moved from ¥109.577 to ¥109.563 upon release of the figures, which preceded the industrial production and retail sales numbers.
According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, retail sales fell by 2.1% in November, which was worse than a forecasted decline of 1.7%. In October, retail sales had slumped by 7%, year-on-year.
Industrial production fell by 0.9% in November, according to prelim figures. Economists had forecast a 1.4% fall. In October production had fallen by 4.5%.
According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry,
Industries that mainly contributed to the decrease were:
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Production machinery.
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Electrical machinery, and information and communication electronics equipment.
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Other products.
Industries that mainly contributed to an increase were
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Motor vehicles
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Transport equipment (excl. motor vehicles).
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Electronic parts and devices.
The Japanese Yen moved from ¥109.552 to ¥109.515 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen was up by 0.15% to ¥109.47 against the greenback.
From China
Industrial profit figures were in focus, providing the Aussie Dollar with support. Profits jumped by 5.4% in November, partially reversing October’s 9.9% slump.