Syz the moment

Japan | BOJ left its monetary settings unchanged and offered no clear sign of a shift in its policy stance, putting a damper on market speculation over the prospects for a near-term interest rate hike and adding pressure on the yen. The Bank of Japan kept its negative interest rate and the parameters of its yield curve control program intact on Friday in an outcome predicted by all 46 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. It also maintained a pledge to add to its stimulus without hesitation if needed, a vow that offers yen bears a reason to keep betting against it. Japan’s currency weakened as much as 0.4% after the decision to around the 148.20 mark against the dollar. This helped stocks, which trimmed about half of their losses for the day. The benchmark 10-year bond yield was down half a basis point from Thursday’s closing level at 0.74%. Source: Bloomberg

USD/JPY

Gold in China is trading at a record premium to international prices, a sign of Beijing’s escalating battle to defend its currency. Bullion on the Shanghai Gold Exchange traded at a premium of more than $120 an ounce on Thursday, according to calculations by Bloomberg. That’s the highest since the exchange was founded over two decades ago, as a weak yuan drove up prices in recent weeks. Source: Bloomberg

Retail sales grew by 4.6% in August from a year ago, beating expectations for 3% growth forecast by a Reuters poll. The increase was also faster than the 2.5% year-on-year pace in July. Industrial production grew by 4.5% in August from a year ago, better than the 3.9% forecast and faster than the 3.7% increase reported for July. Fixed asset investment, however, grew by 3.2% year-on-year in August on a year-to-date basis. That missed expectations for a 3.3% increase and was slower than the 3.4% pace reported as of July. The figure was dragged down by a steeper drop in real estate investment, and a slowdown in infrastructure investment. Only manufacturing saw the pace of investment pick up. Statistics bureau spokesperson Fu Linghui said the real estate market was still in a period of “adjustment” and noted declines in sales and investment. Source: CNBC

Both Canada and Mexico also now account for a higher % of US imports than China. These stories belong to the "new normal": the East-West divide, reshoring / nearshoring / friendshoring, etc. Source: Tavi Costa, Bloomberg, The Kobeissi Letter

When you combine the military budgets of the US and China, it surpasses the combined budgets of all other countries in the world! By Genuine Impact / Chris Quinn

Source: Barchart, FT

Ueda said the central bank’s lifting of its negative interest rate policy will become an option if wages and prices rise, revealing his thinking during an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun. Ueda said that “there are various options” including lifting the negative interest rate policy once the central bank is confident that Japan has achieved sustainable price increases accompanied by rising wages. The negative interest rate policy is a pillar of the Bank of Japan’s large-scale monetary easing measures. While an easy monetary policy environment will be maintained for the time being, signs of factors could emerge that would allow a decision to be made by the end of the year, he indicated. This is the first time Ueda has given an exclusive interview to any media organization since taking office in April. Source: The Japan News, Tavi Costa, Bloomberg