USD/CNH Back Close To Mid Dec Highs, Easing Speculation Continues

USD/CNH spent most of the post Asia close on Tuesday tracking higher. The pair getting to 7.1880/85 by late in the NY session. We track near 7.1840 in early Wednesday trade, CNH lost 0.30% for Tuesday's session. USD/CNY finished up just under 7.1690, while the NEER (J.P. Morgan Index) rose 0.17% to 123.27.

• Broad USD gains aided the USD/CNH push higher. Dec 13 highs right on 7.2000 aren't too far away from the pair. The 100-day EMA is nearby to this level as well.
• Continued easing speculation remained another CNH headwind. Nomura is expecting a cut next Monday in the 1yr MLF rate. This follows recent relatively dovish rhetoric from the central bank.
• Bloomberg noted stated banks were reportedly trying to curb USD gains in the onshore spot market yesterday, with exporters reluctant to sell USDs as USD/CNY gravitated higher.
• On the data front, we are still awaiting Dec aggregate finance/new loans data. A reminder that Friday delivers Dec inflation and trade figures.
• To recap in the equity space, the onshore CSI 300 finished+0.20% higher yesterday, while the GOlden Dragon index lost a further 1.37% in Tuesday US trade, the index's fourth straight loss.