Asian equity markets on Friday are significantly down as price hikes announced by Apple Inc. due to memory chip shortages have prompted fears of high inflation globally and concerns on earning projections of various companies that rely on these sophisticated chips for their final products.
The AUD/USD pair edges lower to around 0.6900 during the Asian trading hours on Friday. The US Dollar (USD) strengthens against the Australian Dollar (AUD) on the expectation of US rate hikes later this year.
USD/CAD loses ground for the second consecutive day, trading around 1.4200 during the Asian hours on Friday. The pair depreciates as the commodity-linked Canadian Dollar (CAD) receives support from higher oil prices.
The GBP/USD pair sticks to a positive bias for the second straight day, albeit it remains below the previous day's swing high and trades just below the 1.3200 mark during the Asian session on Friday.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the US Dollar (USD) against six major currencies, pares its recent losses from the previous day and is trading around 101.50 during the Asian hours on Friday.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gains ground for the second successive day, trading around $71.50 per barrel during the Asian hours on Friday.
On Friday, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) sets the USD/CNY central rate for the trading session ahead at 6.8166 compared to the previous day's fix of 6.8209 and 6.8015 Reuters estimate.
The USD/JPY pair extends its sideways consolidative price move during the Asian session on Friday and currently trades just below the 162.00 mark, near a four-decade high.
Japan Tokyo CPI ex Food, Energy (YoY) up to 1.9% in June from previous 1.6%
Australia National Australia Bank's Business Confidence (QoQ) dipped from previous -4 to -19 in 2Q
The UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO) paused the planned evacuation of more than 11,000 sailors stranded in the Strait of Hormuz after a Singapore-flagged ship passing through the waterway was attacked, BBC reported on Friday.
The EUR/USD pair loses ground to around 1.1365 during the early Asian trading hours on Friday. The major remains near a 13-month low as market expectations for US interest rate hikes have risen.
