Forex News Roundup for 20th June, 2023

• • Major stock markets in Asia began the week on a quiet note, except for one key factor: the absence of Chinese monetary stimulus in the near future. Consequently, both the Hang Seng Index and the Nikkei 225 Index closed the day with declines exceeding 1%. While US stock index futures experienced a slight drop, their activity is projected to be minimal today due to the ongoing US exchange holiday.
  • Once again, cocoa futures experienced an upward surge on Friday, culminating in a closing price that reached the highest point in seven years.
  • Minimal activity has been observed during the Asian session in the forex market. The Australian Dollar emerged as the weakest major currency, while the US Dollar stood as the strongest, making the AUD/USD currency pair a subject of attention.
  • There is a prevailing expectation of an upcoming interest rate hike by the SNB, although market participants appear to be undecided between a more aggressive 0.50% hike and a 0.25% increment. Recent economic data suggests a necessity to ease the pace of tightening, as inflation has already reached the target range, while the overall outlook has somewhat deteriorated.
  • Those following trends are expected to seek long trades in the USD/JPY currency pair, which recently surpassed the ¥141 mark, reaching a new seven-month high at the close of last week.
  • The GBP/USD currency pair attained a fresh one-year high price on Friday. It is probable that the Japanese Yen will continue to exhibit long-term weakness.
  • Japan has been excluded from the Currency Monitoring List by the United States.