Foreign exchange - Yen features on robust industrial output, as markets mull Fed

Yen gains after strong industrial output

Investing.com – The yen gained and Aussie weakened in Asia on Thursday following domestic data sets with the Fed as a backdrop after it signaled higher chances of a rate hike by the end of the year.

changed hands at 0.7106, down 0.17%, while traded at 120.74, down 0.29%.

In Japan, industrial output rose 1.0% in September, far outpacing the fall of 0.5% expected month-on-month.

In Australia HIA new home sales sand 4.0% in September from a 2.3% gain in the previous month and the export price index for the third quarter was flat, compared to an 0.5% gain seen, while the import price index rose 1.4%, below the 1.6% rise expected.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand left the official cash rate unchanged at 2.75% as expected, but jawboned the currency lower by stating that lower interest rates would be required if the exchange rate remains high.

The , which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.01% at 97.69.

Overnight, the U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and in a direct reference to its next policy meeting put a December rate hike firmly in play.

Investors had expected the Fed to remain pat on rates, but the overt reference to December came as a surprise.

Data on Tuesday showing that a key measure of U.S. business investment plans fell for a second straight month in September curtailed expectations for higher interest rates.

Orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, a proxy for company spending on equipment, fell 0.3% in September after a 1.6% decline in August.

Another report showed that U.S. consumer confidence declined this month.

Earlier Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association said their mortgage market index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, declined by 3.5% in the week ending October 23 to 417.4. That follows a gain of 11.8% to 432.7 in the preceding week.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data .

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.

Foreign exchange - Yen features on robust industrial output, as markets mull Fed