- Japan bear flips & now bets on yen energy vs greenback, sterling & franc (sees +8% vs. CHF)
- Japan PM and BOJ chief Ueda will meet right now at 5pm Tokyo time
- Westpac targets 1.22 for EUR/USD and $1.41 GBP/USD (lengthy horizon)
- China deploys ‘nationwide workforce’ buyers to chill AI inventory surge, promoting intervention
- Japan junior coalition chief backs meals tax suspension, defends BOJ independence
- Singapore January exports rise 9.3% however miss expectations, uneven commerce restoration continues
- Japan This fall GDP rises simply 0.2% annualised, misses forecasts & retains BoJ on cautious path
- Japan’s financial progress in This fall 2025 misses estimates
- Traders flip optimistic on Chinese language tech and housing insurance policies into Lunar New 12 months
- Westpac: US resilience could delay last Fed charge lower to June 2026
- Weekend – US boards second Venezuela-linked oil tanker in Indian Ocean
- IMF says Australia attaining comfortable touchdown however warns on inflation dangers & fiscal looseness
- New Zealand January card spending combined messages
- New Zealand companies sector expands in January however momentum eases
- Xi Jinping pushes home demand as China braces for rising international commerce uncertainty
- Monday open indicative foreign exchange costs, 16 February 2026
- Newsquawk Week Forward: US PCE and GDP, FOMC Minutes, RBNZ, Flash PMIs, UK and Canada CPI
At a look:
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Skinny Asia commerce as China’s Lunar New 12 months vacation shuts mainland markets.
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US markets shall be closed for Presidents’ Day, with SIFMA recommending a full fixed-income shut.
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NZ retail gross sales sign fragile demand forward of this week’s RBNZ assembly.
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Japan This fall GDP disappoints, rising simply 0.2% annualised and 0.1% q/q.
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Yen softens post-GDP, with PM Takaichi set to fulfill BOJ Governor Ueda.
It was a subdued session throughout Asia on the primary day of China’s Lunar New 12 months vacation, with mainland markets closed for the week and extra closures scheduled in Singapore and Hong Kong. Buying and selling circumstances had been additional thinned by the US Presidents’ Day vacation, with US fairness markets shut and SIFMA recommending a full closure for US greenback fixed-income buying and selling.
Forward of this week’s Reserve Financial institution of New Zealand financial coverage resolution, the place a maintain is broadly anticipated, information confirmed New Zealand retail gross sales stay comfortable, underscoring still-fragile family demand.
From Japan, fourth-quarter GDP figures dissatisfied. The financial system expanded simply 0.2% annualised, or 0.1% quarter-on-quarter, properly beneath expectations. Personal consumption and capital expenditure posted solely modest positive factors, whereas exports fell 0.3%. Inflation pressures stay agency, protecting the Financial institution of Japan on a cautious normalisation path.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to fulfill BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda later right now (5pm Tokyo / 0800 GMT / 0300 US Japanese), a dialogue markets will watch intently for coverage indicators. The yen weakened modestly following the comfortable GDP launch.
Elsewhere in FX, main pairs had been comparatively regular amid the lighter liquidity backdrop.
Regional equities had been largely consolidating latest positive factors, with Japan’s weaker information taking some momentum out of what had been a robust rally.
In company information, Japanese media reported that Starbucks Korea plans to open at the least 100 new retailers this yr.
