No sooner had Azumi announced his rather unsurprising admission (via Bloomberg) that:
- *JAPAN CUTS ASSESSMENT OF DOMESTIC ECONOMY
- *AZUMI SAYS HE SEES RISK OF GOVT FUNDS DRYING UP
then Aussie Home Sales came in much weaker than expected (and their lowest in six months). The repatriation of JPY accelerated - dragging JPY higher and snapping all the other majors lower relative to the USD; and AUD weakened significantly (though already priced for some easing). Of course, as a funding pair for everything still, the AUDJPY carry-unwind is weighing on equity futures (though minimally for now).
AUDJPY vs ES...
[4]
but all the JPY crosses are under pressure (up is USD strength in chart below):
[5]
Charts: Bloomberg