InvestingLive Asia-Pacific FX news wrap: Earthquake rocks Pacific, Aus CPI, China fiscal

M8.7 Russian east coast/Pacific quake

• Tsunami alert after >Mag 8 earthquake off east coast of Russia
• Massive earthquake - magnitude 8.7, Russia east coast
• Tsunami warnings have been issued across much of Japan's eastern coastline
• Tohoku Elec. Says no tsunami impact to Onagawa nuclear plant
• Honolulu Emergency Management orders evacuation of coastal areas
• Tsunami warnings continue to proliferate following the massive Russian earthquake
• Reports that workers at stricken Fukushima nuclear plant evacuate after tsunami warning
• Hawaii State of Emergency re approaching tsunami

Other:

• BofA raised its year-end targets for Japan’s Topix and Nikkei
• Gold Futures Technical Analysis and Price Prediction Before Today's FOMC Press Conference
• Samsung Electronics is reportedly revisiting plans to invest $7 billion in the US
• China to refocus government investment funds on strategic sectors
• Chinese investors pulling money out of gold-backed ETFs at a record pace (via Bloomberg)
• A Fed Governor Waller FOMC dissent today to be seen as effort to curry favour with Trump
• Australian dollar marked lower on CPI data - RBA August rate cut appears locked in
• Australia Q2 2025 Headline CPI 2.1%y/y (expected 2.2%) Trimmed mean 2.7%y/y (exp 2.7%)
• PBOC sets USD/ CNY central rate at 7.1441 (vs. estimate at 7.1742)
• New Zealand July business confidence 47.8% (prior 46.3%)
• Monetary Authority of Singapore leaves policy unchanged
• In complex systems like the economy the errors aren’t noise — they’re the signal
• China finance minister signals more proactive fiscal support amid rising uncertainty
• JP Morgan: Lower tariffs on U.S. exports may benefit other countries more than the U.S.
• US law to ban Trump from trading stocks is being opposed by ... the White House
• Bank of America sees soft July jobs report, warns market may misread the signals
• Its rate cut time! Chile's central bank cuts by 25bp.
• SEC approves in-kind creation for crypto ETPs, aiming to boost market efficiency
• UBS says its too early to become complacent on tariffs - wary of current optimism
• Investinglive Americas FX news wrap 29 Jul:US/China talks end. The ball is in Trumps court
• Oil: private survey of inventory shows a headline crude oil build vs. draw expected
• No record closes today in the major indices. Stocks take a breather ahead of Fed
• Visa Q3 2025 earnings solid beat: strong cross-border growth, resilient consumer spend

The major headline during today’s session was a massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia’s east coast, triggering tsunami warnings across the Pacific. It is the strongest quake since Japan’s 2011 disaster and ranks among the largest in recorded history. Waves up to four metres above tide levels have already hit parts of the Russian coastline. Lower-magnitude surges are expected across Japan, China, the U.S. West Coast, Ecuador, Chile, Costa Rica, French Polynesia, Guam, Hawaii, and other Pacific nations. Our thoughts are with those affected — please stay safe.

Monetary policy was in focus in Singapore, where the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) left policy settings unchanged, following stronger-than-expected Q2 GDP growth. MAS said it would maintain the current rate of appreciation in the Singapore Dollar Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (S$NEER) band, with no change to its width or centre. (More on MAS’s unique exchange-rate-based framework is in the post.)

From Australia, quarterly CPI data came in either in line or below expectations, reinforcing the case for a 25bp cash rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia at its next meeting on August 11–12:

• Headline CPI rose at its slowest pace in over four years

• Core inflation hit a fresh three-year low

Markets are now pricing in over 100% probability of a cut next month.

In China, Finance Minister Lan Fo’an said the government will expand fiscal support to boost domestic consumption and counter mounting economic challenges. That message was reinforced later with news that Beijing will strengthen coordination between national and local government investment funds to better align with key development priorities.

In FX, the U.S. dollar traded broadly weaker against major currencies. The Japanese yen outperformed, with USD/JPY falling back below 148.00. The Australian dollar dipped briefly on the soft CPI report but was soon bid back.

Asia-Pac stocks:

• Australia (S&P/ASX 200) +0.6%
• Hong Kong (Hang Seng) -0.3%
• Japan (Nikkei 225) flat
• Shanghai Composite +0.45%