With the US on holiday on Monday, markets had a slow start to the week. The lack of US traders kept Europe quiet and the lead-in from Asia was much the same.

Oil was interesting, as the supply issues out of Iran are keeping oil supplies a little tight. That is pushing the price of oil back above the $70 mark for the time being. And making things look a little more bullish than we previously thought.

Looking to the day ahead in Asia and the main focus for the time being is on the RBA minutes. However, the expectations are simply for a ‘cut and paste’ type update. We have heard a lot from the RBA in the last month and there is little to add at the moment.

That said, the out-of-cycle rate hikes by some of the big banks is going to be a worry for the RBA.

The USD is Grinding

The support level at 95.00 is and resistance at 95.50 is the immediate focus for the USD. We have found a bit of a base but the trade concerns appear to still be weighting on the DXY.

As traders return, there are some data points out for us to look at. Mainly ISM manufacturing PMI. So again, as expected it is a slow grind at the moment.