Asian Forex Wrap

Obama to raise currency topic with Chinese. Japan October Bank loans up 1.5% YoY. Japan September current account surplus +0.2% YoY. Australia business activity rises in October. Tarullo says dividing bank operations may not reduce risk. Japan's Fujii says he is concerned about rise in long term rates. Chinese State information centre rejects calls to appreciate CNY. Naval skirmish reported between North and South Korea. Australian Trade Minister says exporters must prepare for stronger AUD. Gold at 1101.00 Asian bourses all higher, ASX200 up 1.2%, Nikkei up 1.3%, Kospi up 0.6%. There were quite a few headlines today but none really moved the markets too much. Traders had their bull suits on early morning, eager to test recent tops but it wasnt to be. Talk of the day was Asian reserve manager selling EUR above 1.5000, AUDUSD above 9320 and NZD quite aggresively. China State researchers, quoting that the Chinese government wont be pressured into appreciating its currency was also seen weighing on the majors. Recent sovereign names that were seen buying dips, were also seen selling EUR towards 1.5010, which saw longs trim positions back to 1.4970 where a large swiss name was seen buying. Bounces have been limited, as the market await Europe for direction. Japanese EURJPY sellers into the Tokyo fix stopped any move up thru 135.00 sending it back with the EURUSD to 134.60 area, with news of a naval skirmish between North and South Korea adding some knee jerk sellers into the mix. USDJPY moves were limited and took a back seat, trading in a tight range. AUDUSD spiked higher after the positive business activity numbers only to run into sellers above 9320. A large European name was seen on top as was Japanese AUDJPY sellers, but more importantly, Asian reserve manager was reportedly selling it back below 93c. Longs pared gains back below 9280. Ranges: EURUSD 1.4967 - 1.5012 GBPUSD 1.6732 - 1.6788 USDJPY 89.79 - 90.04 EURJPY 134.64 - 134.99 AUDUSD 9271 - 9324