Trump announces trade deal with EU following months of negotiations
Investing.com-- Most Asian currencies traded flat on Monday as traders braced for an action-packed week featuring interest rate decisions from the Bank of Japan and the U.S. Federal Reserve, renewed U.S.–China trade talks, and an impending tariff deadline set by President Donald Trump.
The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, fell 0.1% in Asia hours. Dollar Index Futures were largely muted.
Asia FX muted despite EU-US trade deal optimism
President Trump announced a U.S.–EU framework deal on Sunday. The agreement includes a 15% tariff on EU goods entering the U.S., down from the 30% originally proposed.
Meanwhile, top U.S. and Chinese officials were scheduled to meet in Stockholm on Monday to resolve trade tensions and reportedly seek a three-month extension of their tariff truce.
According to a South China Morning Post report, both sides are looking to extend the tariff truce before it expires on August 12, with no plans to impose new duties or escalate tensions.
Despite easing global trade tensions, investors remained cautious ahead of the August 1 deadline, when countries would see higher tariff rates if a deal was not reached.
Both the onshore USD/CNY and offshore USD/CNH Chinese yuan pairs traded largely unchanged.
The Singapore dollar’s USD/SGD pair, and the Indian rupee’s USD/INR pair were also muted.
The Australian dollar’s AUD/USD edged 0.1% lower.
Meanwhile, the South Korean won rose after sharp losses on Friday. The won’s USD/KRW pair fell 0.3% on Monday.
Both Fed, BOJ expected to hold rates steady
The BOJ is expected to hold interest rates steady on Thursday amid global trade certainty and domestic political flux.
Analysts believe that the U.S.-Japan trade deal signed last week would provide some room to policymakers to raise rates again later this year.
Still, investor sentiment in Japan remained cautious amid ongoing political uncertainty, following the ruling coalition’s defeat in last week’s upper house elections and speculation over Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s potential resignation.
The Japanese yen’s USD/JPY pair was little changed after sharp gains last week.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Fed is also expected to hold rates unchanged on Wednesday this week, with markets awaiting comments from central bankers to gauge further policy outlook.