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Most markets were closed for the Good Friday holiday last week and FX price action was relatively restrained. However, there was a development over the weekend that had an impact on currencies when trading began on Monday.
March’s Chinese Manufacturing PMI clocked in at 51.5 on Saturday. Keep in mind that a reading above 50 indicates expansion while a one below shows contraction. This was the fastest pace of growth since December 2017.
The Australian Dollar certainly liked this news and it gapped higher once it had a chance to react at market open. China is Australia’s largest trading partner and economic news flow from the former country often implies knock-on effects on the latter.
Speaking of the world’s second largest economy, China announced that their response to the US steel and aluminum tariffs would go into effect starting Monday April 2nd. The total amount of taxes on US goods will add up to about $3 billion.
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Five Things Traders are Reading:
- China’s Trade Stance, Possible Moves against US, and Impact to USD/CNH by Renee Mu, Currency Analyst
- A War to Trade More, Not Less - What’s Behind US-China Tariffs by Christopher Vecchio and Renee Mu, Sr. Currency Strategist/Currency Analyst
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- Big-picture Technical Outlook: EUR/USD, USD/JPY, Gold, Oil & S&P 500 by Paul Robinson, Market Analyst
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