Japanese authorities have intervened to halt the yen’s slide. There’s fresh talk of another peace proposal in the Iran conflict, but the Strait of Hormuz is still shut. South Korean exports rise 48%, and New Zealand consumers see record-high inflation.
In our deep-dive interview, ANZ Head of FX Research Mahjabeen Zaman looks at the chances of further intervention to stop the dollar rising beyond 160 yen, including the chances of bilateral intervention by both Japanese authorities and the Fed.
5 things to know in 5 minutes:
Stock markets are at record highs despite the closure of the Strait of Hormuz entering its third month. ANZ Group Chief Economist Richard Yetsenga says markets continue to price a relatively short conflict and little impact to global growth. He says the clock is now ticking on that view.
The Fed, the ECB and the Bank of England all held their rates last week, but shifted in a hawkish direction. Richard says the focus now turns to the Reserve Bank of Australia tomorrow, which is expected to hike.
South Korea’s exports were 48% higher in April than a year ago, with semi-conductor exports up 178% and solid state drive exports up 515%, says ANZ Economist Krystal Tan.
ANZ Research has downgraded its outlooks for the Indian rupee, Indonesian rupiah and Philippine peso, which have continued to hit record lows vs the US dollar. Here’s ANZ’s Head of Asia Research Khoon Goh.
New Zealand consumer confidence fell in April to a three-year low in the ANZ Roy Morgan survey. Consumers also saw inflation over the next two years of 6.6%, up 0.9 percentage points from March and even higher than during Covid, when inflation actually went over 7%, says ANZ New Zealand Chief Economist Sharon Zollner.
Cheers,
Bernard.
PS: Catch you tomorrow with a full preview of the RBA decision, expected to be a rate hike.
