149.29 is also an AT resistance. The overnight low wqs 149.49, suggests 149.50 is a pivotal level…you would need to see a bigger move up in yields to give the upside some legs..
I see a lot of volume in 149.60 area still present for UsdJpy based on futures and options contracts with 149.30 being the same but less. So the potential for a stop/order run through the latter is conceivable and .60 you may hit a sweet spot unless the market absolutely reverses in my view. A bit much to ask for today but possible.
China has banned exports of Germanium and other minerals which have great military importance for the US with Germanium important for nuclear and conventional missile production. This is a significant counter to the tariff threats raised and can be viewed as the only actual move made by either party to this point. China went right for military applications and also some key civilian mineral applications that effect communication and technology.
This coupled with the announcement of martial law by Yoon in South Korea is a clear window into growing hostility in the background with China, North Korea, South Korea, and Russia.
Sell side of AudNzd looks decent to me at the moment from 1.102 or under. Flows have been hitting prime spots in the European session of late making the US session a bit difficult, but I have been finding good situations in crosses. Yen has legs, period, so the sell side of Yen pairs is prime.
“ To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements… I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in the TV address.
US stocks are reaching new records as growth continues to outperform, interest rate cut optimism grows, and investors shrug off overseas turbulence in French politics and Chinese trade. The US manufacturing contraction is moderating, and growth estimates are rising, with the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s ‘GDPNow’ model predicting a 3.2% annualized expansion in the current quarter. Meanwhile, the Fed is hinting at another rate cut, with Governor Christopher Waller suggesting a move to a more neutral monetary policy setting. In Europe, France is facing a ‘no-confidence’ vote, but government borrowing rates are tumbling, and the European Central Bank is under pressure to cut rates further. In China, the yuan has hit a 2024 low, and the country is retaliating against US trade restrictions with export bans on certain materials.