ForexLive Asia-Pacific FX news wrap: Oil, gold, AUD, NZD all higher in Asia trade

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There
were plenty of moving parts during the Asian session on Wednesday.
The political and market reverberations of the explosions that killed 500 people at a Gaza
hospital continued. Despite it becoming clear that Hamas was behind
the dreadful atrocity, the rhetoric barely died down. Hamas fires its
missiles at Israel from populated areas of Gaza, using the
Palestinian people as human shields, and in this case the evidence
points to one of the missiles causing the death and destruction at
the Palestinian hospital. The charitable interpretation is that it
was a misfired Hamas rocket. The alternative, a deliberate attack on
civilians, is horrible to contemplate.
</p><p>Markets
fear that escalation like this in the Middle East will hit energy
exports. This was a factor in the oil price surge during the
timezone.</p><p>Another
factor for oil was the data from China today, which showed better
than expected GDP growth for Q3, and better than expected Industrial
Output and Retail Sales growth in September data. This paints a
picture of an expected continuing demand improvement in China, adding
to the oil bid.</p><p>Also
playing a part was the release of privately surveyed oil inventory
data at the end of Tuesday in the US that registered a much larger
crude oil headline drawdown than was expected.
</p><p>Adding
further fuel to the fire was Chinese Communist Party Chairman Xi
speaking at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing. Of particular note
was Xi promising that China
will remove all restrictions on foreign investment access in the
manufacturing sector.</p><p>Gold
headed higher during the session. Rising oil prices threaten to tip
economies into recession, which is likely to see central banks not
being so quite ‘higher for longer’ (for interest rates) as was
expected prior to the Hamas attacks on Israel and the subsequent war.

</p><p>The
USD fell on the session against major FX. AUD and NZD were notably
bid after the Chinese data. CAD, too, is stronger. EUR and GBP did
little more than return to earlier highs while the hapless yen
managed a gain on the session.</p><p>Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Bullock spoke today, with a hawkish tile to her comments. </p><p>Asian
equity markets:</p><ul><li><p>
Japan’s
Nikkei 225 -0.2%</p></li><li><p>
China’s
Shanghai Composite -0.6%
</p></li><li><p>
Hong
Kong’s Hang Seng -0.1%
</p></li><li><p>
South
Korea’s KOSPI +0.1%</p></li><li><p>
Australia’s
S&amp;P/ASX 200 +0.1%
</p></li></ul><p>Oil:</p>

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.