Antipodeans Diverge, Greenback Holds Firm

Antipodean divergence has unfolded in early Asia-Pac hours, with AUD/NZD trading 10 pips better off as Australia/New Zealand 2-year swap spread has crept higher. Comments from a couple of RBNZ officials are crossing the wires as we type but the kiwi had already been the worst G10 performer beforehand.

• RBNZ Dep Gov Hawkesby deployed similar language to Governor Orr re: a need to get the OCR comfortably above neutral, while his MPC colleague Richardson said the Reserve Bank was surprised by the strength of inflation.
• The BBDXY index has climbed as the greenback outperforms all G10 currencies save for the Aussie dollar. E-mini contracts have ground lower.
• USD/JPY has added nearly 30 pips thus far after completing a short-term double bottom pattern last week. Across the curve, risk reversals have established themselves above par.
• The PBOC will set the Loan Prime Rates today. It is expected that the People's Bank could adjust both 1-Year and 5-Year LPR lower following last week's cuts to the rates applied to 1-Year MLF and 7-Day Reverse Repo operations.