Yen Gains Dominate Early Asia Pac Dealings, Australian Jobs Data Out Soon

Early G10 FX trends have been dominated by further yen gains. The pair hit fresh lows of 155.38 in earlier dealings, last near 155.6 still 0.40% stronger in yen terms. This has dragged the the USD indices lower, the BBDXY last near 1247 (off less than 0.1% at this stage).

• Yen gains haven't appeared to reflect any fresh catalysts, outside of carry from strong gains that kicked off late in Asia Pac trade yesterday. Futures volumes (JYA) have been fairly firm since this period yesterday and has continued this morning.
• This may reflect on-going position adjustments in the pair, given the host of positives for the yen around equity risk aversion, intervention risks and lower US-JP yield differentials.
• Trade figures earlier showed weaker than expected June export growth, but we remain positive in y/y terms. The trade deficit was close to expectations (in seasonally adjusted terms(,
• Elsewhere trends are steadier. NZD/USD is off slightly, last near 0.6075. AUD/USD is unchanged near 0.6730.
• Cross asset sentiment has seen US equity futures rise 0.25-0.35%, following sharp cash losses in Wednesday trade. US yields have ticked higher, but gains haven't stretched beyond 1bps at this stage. In the US speculation continues around Biden's Presidential candidacy, with Chuck Schumer (the Democrats Senate leader) reportedly telling the President to drop out of the race over the weekend.
• Coming up we have Australian employment figures in a little under an hour. The mkt expects +20k jobs growth and an unemployment rate at (4.1% from 4.0% prior). Outside of this the data calendar is light.