The kiwi took flight after RBNZ Gov Orr stated that the MPC can afford to "wait, watch and observe what's happening" and will "assess the situation in Nov," which encouraged investors to pare bets that the RBNZ will ease policy at the next meeting. These remarks overshadowed Orr's pledge to do "whatever it takes" to support NZ economy and to trim the OCR if needed.

Broader improvement in risk environment helped the NZD hold onto gains & aided the AUD, but pressured safe haven FX.

A light JPY sell-off into the Tokyo fix cemented the yen's weakness. Meanwhile, Japanese CPI numbers indicated that price growth remains sluggish, with core CPI meeting MNI exp. at +0.6% Y/Y.

The USD/CNH showed above CNH 7.1 as today's USD/CNY mid-point was set at the highest level since Mar '08, although slightly lower than exp.

EconomicData:

The main focus on Friday is the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium. Besides, there are several data releases worth mentioning, including Canadian retail trade at 1330 BST, the Belgium BNB Business Sentiment at 1400 BST and US new home sales at 1500 BST.

‍

NZD/USD (blue) vs AUD/USD (orange) vs USD/JPY (black)

‍

Dollar Index