Talking Points
- Japan’s official reserve asset total slipped back a little in October
- Data didn’t manage to shift markets’focus away from US election
- USD/JPY held up after the release, hovering near yesterday’s high
News that Japan’s official reserves slipped a little in October saw the Yen steady against the US Dollar on Tuesday with market focus clearly on the US presidential vote rather than the monthly economic data round.
The official reserve tally came in at $1242.8 billion, according to official figures. That’s down from $1260.1 billion in September.
Reserve assets are the currency, commodities or other financial capital held by monetary authorities. They're used to finance trade imbalances, mitigate the impact offoreign exchangemoves and address other issues under the purview of the central bank.
While essential reading for economists and other market watchers, these data were clearly eclipsed by the wait for the US to head out to the polls.
The US Dollar had risen sharply against the Yen and all other major rivals on Monday after the FBI decided that Democratic nominee Hilary Clinton wouldn’t face criminal charges relating to her use of a private email server.
This was seen as a boost to her chances of winning Tuesday’s vote. With Clinton generally viewed in the markets as much more of a known quantity in office than her rival Donald Trump, both the US Dollar and US stock markets posted gains.
With this theme still very much in play, USD/JPY traded at 104.599 after the Japanese numbers, up from 105.460 before.
USD/JPY steady, looking towards the US election outcome
Chart created using TradingView
