investingLive Asia-Pacific FX news wrap: US-Iran memorandum of understanding signed
- Warsh leaves markets guessing as Fed framework overhaul raises more questions than answers
- China rolls out third trade-in fund tranche as weak retail data keeps stimulus pressure on
- Japan’s Kihara flags weak yen household burden but offers no fresh intervention signal
- Apple warns memory chip crunch makes price rises unavoidable, Cook tells WSJ
- PBOC sets USD/ CNY reference rate for today at 6.8130 (vs. estimate at 6.7752)
- Analysts split on Fed path after June hold, with December hike odds near 50%
- CITIC Securities sees Fed on hold all year as Warsh faces political & inflation crosswinds
- Brazil central bank cuts rates but warns fiscal stimulus may blunt monetary policy
- SpaceX stock analysis after IPO
- Japan’s 94% Middle East oil dependence leaves firms deeply exposed even as war winds down
- Brent could top $130 if strait never fully reopens, Goldman warns
- New Zealand Q1 GDP 0.8% q/q (0.9% expected) and 1.5% y/y (1.1% expected)
- Iran draws a red line on the deal. Attack Lebanon and its off.
- Iran-US MOU signed but Baghaei fires warning on missiles, uranium and Hormuz fees
- Iran confirms MoU with the US has been agreed to and finalised. Both sides have signed.
- Warsh rewrites the Fed playbook as FOMC holds rates and signals hikes ahead
- Iran signals permanent Hormuz changes as $300bn reconstruction deal confirmed
- US stocks fall as Fed signals a more hawkish policy
- investingLive Americas market news wrap: Warsh leans heavily into the inflation mandate
Summary:
- US-Iran MOU formally signed: Trump at Versailles, Pezeshkian in Tehran; 14-point agreement now in effect
- Oil dribbled lower on the signing; gold clawed back some post-Fed losses
- New Zealand Q1 GDP: 0.8% q/q, 1.5% y/y; NZD/USD crept higher on broad USD softness
- Japan’s Kihara delivered standard verbal intervention; USD/JPY unmoved, holding around 160.50
- China NDRC announced third consumer goods trade-in tranche of 62.5 bln yuan by end-June
- Nikkei 225 surged past 71,000 for the first time; Topix reached 4,069
The headline of the Asia-Pacific session was the formal signing of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding, bringing the framework agreement to end the Middle East conflict into legal effect. President Trump signed his copy of the 14-point document during a dinner at the Palace of Versailles, with a photograph of the signed agreement transmitted to Tehran and the mediating countries. Iranian President Pezeshkian signed separately. Oil prices edged modestly lower on the news, with markets having largely priced the outcome. Gold recovered some ground after Wednesday’s hawkish Fed-driven selloff.
New Zealand’s Q1 GDP delivered a beat on the annual measure at 1.5% against an expected 1.1%, though the quarterly print of 0.8% fell short of the RBNZ’s 1.0% forecast. The NZD crept higher but the move was modest, driven more by broad dollar softness across the majors than by the data itself.
Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Kihara ran through the standard FX watchfulness script, acknowledging the household burden of yen weakness without offering anything that moved the market. USD/JPY held around 160.50.
The session’s standout market move was in Japanese equities. The Nikkei 225 broke above 71,000 for the first time on record, with the broader Topix reaching 4,069, as the Versailles signing and a softer dollar provided the constructive backdrop.
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.