It was a very calm Asia-Pac session with limited excitement across the major asset classes.
- China, Kazakhstan pledge closer trade and cooperation
- ING: USD weakness paves the way for EURUSD to 1.20
- Russian central bank signals flexibility on rates amid inflation risks
- Implied volatility levels for GBP & EUR pairs ahead of flash PMI data
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- UN chief calls for Gaza ceasefire, urges Israel to halt settlement expansion
- Meta freezes AI hiring after rapid expansion and restructuring according to WSJ
- PBOC sets USD/ CNY mid-point today at 7.1287 (vs. estimate at 7.1748)
- CME and FanDuel teams up to offer event contracts for bets on financial markets
- Nomura remains short USD into Jackson Hole
- Japan flash manufacturing PMI 49.9 vs 48.9 prior
- PBOC is expected to set the USD/CNY reference rate at 7.1748 – Reuters estimate
- Nordea sees usdnok downside and eurnok upside
- US VP Vance says Europe must carry lion’s share of security burden
- China pushes deeper cooperation with Pakistan and Afghanistan
- Australia Flash Manufacturing PMI 52.9 vs 51.3 Prior
- New Zealand Imports 7.28B vs 6.5B Previous
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- Texas House approves Trump-backed redistricting map
- Bolsonaro accused in sovereignty case, asylum request revealed
- Alibaba plans Hong Kong spin-off of Banma Network Technology
- Goldman likes USDJPY shorts targeting 142 with stops above 152
- Fed’s Lisa Cook rejects pressure to resign
- POLITICO reports that US will play minimal role in security guarantees for Ukraine
- South Korea PPI Growth YY 0.5% vs 0.5% Prior
- Choppy day with Fed minutes and Fed’s Cook drama
- Zelenskiy’s chief of staff warns against repeating 1994 Budapest mistake
- Hawkesby cite weak response to cuts, flat housing outlook, and tariff risks
The session started slow and ended about the same as markets lack fresh catalysts to get excited about.
Yesterday’s shenanigans with Fed’s Cook and the FOMC meeting minutes wasn’t enough to really get the markets going. It’s once again important when looking at the minutes to remember that this took place before the big NFP revisions that we had.
It would not be unreasonable to assume that some FOMC members might feel differently after seeing the labour data. So, the context is important.
Looking across markets, the AUD is currently the weakest currency on the session, with the EUR leading the pack as the strongest, closely followed by the GBP and the USD.
Among the Major indices, the ASX200 (+0.68%) is up by a very large margin compared to the others, with the Nikkei down by -0.49%. It’s worth noting that movement among US and EU indices have been minimal though.
For major commodities, Oil is leading the way up +0.35 on the session (arguably followed by yesterday’s big EIA draws), while Gold has been giving up some of yesterday’s solid gains, currently down -0.26% on the session.
Looking to the session ahead, focus turns to the EU, UK and US flash PMI data, as well as Claims data for the US. Once that is out of the way, it’s a waiting game until we get the Jackson Hole symposium coming up tomorrow, with Powell’s speech the main event.
This article was written by Arno V Venter at investinglive.com.