ForexLive Asia FX news wrap: USD/JPY, AUD and NZD all slip a little

A small risk off tone pervaded across Asia today following the hawkish tilt evident in the Federal Open Market Committee minutes released Wednesday US time:

Regional equities here followed the lead of lower US stocks and lost ground on the session so far.

Across FX AUD, NZD were the notable losers (albeit all major FX ranges were not large) and yen managed to gain; USD/JPY dropped from above 116.10 to visit briefly under 115.90.

Data flow was from lesser-tier releases. News flow was light but was characterised by concerns on coronavirus getting a little more widespread:

• the number of flights has been curtailed at airports in Xi’an (mainland China), Macau and Hong Kong
• coronavirus restrictions have tightened a touch in Australia
• coronavirus-related restrictions were tightened on US bases in Japan

(see bullets above for more on these)

Bitcoin volatility dropped in the session here: