The USD drifted lower in Asia-Pac trade,......>

FOREX: The USD drifted lower in Asia-Pac trade, but the DXY failed to test

Monday's lows. Still, the index remains on course to lodge a 7th consecutive

daily loss. USD/JPY cracked below the 200-DMA, extending on Monday's break below

uptrend support. USD/CNH shed 1 figure, aided by a slightly stronger than

expected PBoC fix, and the broader USD weakness.

- There was nothing in the way of notable reaction to the Chinese official PMI

surveys for Dec, with the m'fing reading printing at 50.2, steady vs. Nov &

marginally above exp. of 50.1. The non-m'fing survey saw a downtick to 53.5 from

54.4 in Nov and was weaker than exp. for 54.2. At first glance the highlight of

the breakdown was the m'fing new export orders sub-index moving back into

expansionary territory, for the first time since May 2018. Elsewhere, m'fing

input prices moved back into expansionary territory, while the rate of

deterioration on the m'fing producer price side slowed. The m'fing employment

sub-index was steady at 47.3 for a third consecutive month.

- Lower tier U.S. data headlines today's docket, with liquidity a little more

limited over the coming days owing to various market closures.