JPY The Loser On Lockdown Woes

The greenback is holding losses sustained on Thursday, AUD and NZD both slightly stronger, brushing the top of their respective recent ranges.

• AUD up around 0.7665, AiG Performance of Services Index rose to 58.7 in March from 55.8 previously. Looking at the breakdown new orders and employment both saw solid gains, new orders index now at 67.5, wages also saw solid gains to 61.0. Deliveries and sales fell, attributed in part to localized lockdowns in the survey period.
• NZD/USD last around 0.7063, New Zealand's ANZ Truckometer Heavy Index rose 2.8% M/M in Mar, building on its 3.3% gain in Feb. ANZ commented that "the data will be hard to interpret over the next couple of months" due to "regionalised snap lockdowns last month, and as the seasonal adjustment process struggles to make sense of the plunge a year ago."
• JPY weaker, USD/JPY gaining a handful of pips. Markets digest reports from Japanese Econ Min Nishimura that the gov't want to implement stricter Covid-19 measures in Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa from Apr 12 to May 11.
• Offshore yuan is stronger, making fresh session lows but still within yesterday's range. Last down 29 pips at 6.5540. USD/CNH saw gains on Thursday, despite broad USD weakness. CNH 1-month implied volatility continues to fall, hitting the lowest since July. Markets look ahead to inflation data where the consensus is muted CPI and a reflationary PPI figure.
• GBP gains modestly, it was announced that the UK government's Global Travel Taskforce will announce in early May if international travel can resume from May 17 and plans a traffic light system.