Antipodean Divergence

The greenback has gained slightly since the open in Asia, pressuring most G10 crosses. In general ranges have been narrow, with markets awaiting key central bank decisions later this week including the Fed and BoJ.

• AUD lower, making fresh lows after a broadly dovish set of RBA minutes. The RBA said very significant monetary policy support would be needed for some time, adding that the CPI target was unlikely to be hit before 2024 based on wage growth, while cautioning the end of fiscal stimulus could see a downturn.
• NZD is faring well as the antipodeans diverge once again, still supported by chatter surrounding the acquisition of Tilt Renewables' assets. Elsewhere, New Zealand's Inland Revenue has launched a probe into the booming real estate sector, targeting "underreporting of income and the overstating of expenses."
• JPY is softer, led by lower by the advancing USD. Japanese Finance Minister Aso said earlier that cash handouts for low income families had been approved. Markets look ahead to speech from BoJ Gov Kuroda later in the session.
• GBP is under pressure after reports several European countries had suspended use of UK-based AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine amid a health concern, while earlier the EU launched legal action against the UK over Brexit violation.
• The PBOC fixed USD/CNY at 6.5029, 3 pips below sell side estimates. Offshore yuan is weaker, USD/CNH last up at 6.4994, but is off session highs of 6.5029. US President Biden affirmed his stance on China when his administration defended Trump's 2018 expansion of tariffs on Chinese goods against lawsuits brought by US companies.