Is the AUD/JPY the trade to make at the beginning of the coming week?
Both the BoJ and the RBA are delivering their latest interest rate decisions on Monday morning, 30 minutes from each other.
The Bank of Japan is up first, at 11:00 pm on Monday (US time UTC –4). The Reserve Bank of Australia follow at 11:30 pm.
What's expected from each bank?
According to sources quoted by Reuters, the Bank of Japan is leaning toward exiting negative rates this month. This is something that would really be a huge shock to the market. It would be the year's story, but do most traders believe this is possible, or is April the more likely timeline? Even a hint of an April rate hike could be a huge event in the market.
From the RBA, traders might be looking for a rate cut, but won't likely get it. An argument on the side of a rate cut involves the RBA getting nervous about what the Wall Street Journal calls a “Deepening Property Crisis of its Own Making”. Sarah Hunter, the Assistant Governor of the RBA, addressed the economic and inflation forecast during a panel discussion at the AFR Business Summit on Tuesday, stating that “Households are clearly struggling at present.”