October 23, 2026

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Australian Dollar Might Get Some Respite If Inflation Holds Up

Australian Dollar Might Get Some Respite If Inflation Holds Up

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Fundamental Forecast for AUD:Neutral

Fundamental Australian Dollar Forecast:

  • AUD/USD remains under severe fundamental pressure
  • However, it has so far remained just above its recent, 2018 lows
  • A strong inflation print could keep it there

Find out what retail foreign exchange traders make of the Australian Dollar’s prospects right now, in real time, at the DailyFX Sentiment Page

The Australian Dollar continues to languish close to this year’s lows against its US cousin, but, while there’s little scope to expect a turnaround, matters may not get much worse for its bulls this week.

The currency remains primarily beset by the yawning gap in monetary policy approaches between the Reserve Bank of Australia and the US Federal Reserve. While the Fed seems resolved to go on raising interest rates whatever President Donald Trump’s reservations , the RBA seems set to keep its own key Official Cash Rate at its 1.50% record low for many months yet. Indeed futures markets still don not predict a move for all of next year.

Against this backdrop is a foreground of worries about trade wars, bringing with it a general atmosphere of market risk aversion, which tends to play against growth-linked currencies such as the Aussie. Australia is after all linked to the trade spat’s two great protagonists, China and America, in numerous intertwined ways.

On top of all this comes political risk. There has been plenty of churn at the top of Australian politics in the last ten years or so. The country has had six Prime Ministers since 2007 and the ruling party’s loss of of a key by-election in Sydney last week suggests that 2018 could bring a seventh.

So, the Australian Dollar remains unlikely to look like a screaming buy this week, for whatever should occur is most unlikely to play against all of the negatives now plaguing it. However, investors will get a look at official domestic consumer prices. Those data come due on Wednesday.

The second quarter’s annualized rise of 2.1% put inflation back within the RBA’s 2-4% target band for the first time since the final quarter of 2016. If it holds up, or even edges ahead then the momentum lower in AUD/USD could be halted, even if it is unlikely to stop for long. After all the RBA’s mandate is to keep price rises within that band ‘over time,’ not merely to get them up there on occasion.

Still, signs of sustainably higher prices may yet give the Aussie a bit of support and, assuming the absence of more left field bad news, it’s a neutral call this week.

Australian dollar might get some respite if inflation holds up

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— Written by David Cottle, DailyFX Research

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Japan: Bitcoin Payments Could See 260,000 Stores by Summer

bitcoin payments may be accepted at over 260,000 stores in Japan by this summer following partnerships between the country’s bitcoin exchanges and major retailers.


Bic Camera to Trial bitcoin Payments

Japanese electronics chain Bic Camera has partnered with Tokyo-based bitFlyer, which runs the country’s largest bitcoin exchange that currently comprises about 10% of the bitcoin market.

This Friday, Bic Camera’s flagship shop in Tokyo’s Yurakucho district along with Bicqlo Bic Camera, a hybrid outlet with Uniqlo, will begin a trial run using bitFlyer’s bitcoin payment system, according to the official release.

Customers will be able to pay up to 100,000 yen (~$900 USD) with bitcoin, which will also include reward points at the same rate as for cash payments. The trial will determine if Bic Camera will expand bitcoin payments to its other 39 nationwide locations.

260,000 Merchants Can Now Accept bitcoin

Meanwhile, another Tokyo bitcoin exchange, Coincheck, has partnered with Recruit Lifestyle, the retail support arm of human resources conglomerate Recruit Holdings.

Coincheck, which currently holds 99% of the bitcoin payment market share in Japan, will bring bitcoin payments to shops that use AirRegi, a point-of-sale app developed by Recruit Lifestyle, by this summer.

To pay with bitcoin, customers can simply scan the barcode displayed on the app. Coincheck will process the transaction, converting the bitcoin into yen for the merchant.

Additionally, the app also supports Alipay, China’s leading third-party payment solution. However, Chinese tourists visiting Japan will be able to finally spend their bitcoin, something they cannot do in their home country.

Today, the most popular electronic payment options in Japan include Suica and Rakuten’s Edy, which are accepted at 380,000 and 470,000 locations, respectively. But with these recent moves, virtual currency could soon enter their ranks as AirRegi terminals are already used at 260,000 eateries and other retail locations nationwide.

Japan: Land of the Rising Bits

bitcoin transaction volume in Japan began to increase significantly since 2016, and in January 2017 its volume exceeded 541.1 billion yen (about 20 times compared to the same period last year).

Just recently, on April 1, 2017, Japan’s Payment Services Act for virtual currencies went into effect, recognizing bitcoin as a legal payment option while forcing cryptocurrency exchanges to register with the government. Starting in July, purchases of virtual currency will be exempt from the consumption tax.

Overall, the new regulations and tax incentives are expected to boost consumer confidence and growth of the domestic virtual currency market, which already had over 4,000 locations accepting bitcoin.

Will these new partnership make bitcoin a mainstream payment method in the country? Share your thoughts below! 


Images courtesy of Shutterstock, air-regi.com, 

The post Japan: Bitcoin Payments Could See 260,000 Stores by Summer appeared first on Bitcoinist.com.