ForexLive Asia Wrap for Friday 04 Dec 2013: Continued 'Risk' Selling and USD/JPY Buying Today

Today was a continuation story of

1. The 'risk' selling on the back of the surprise FOMC Minutes of December 11 and 12 indicating some members favoured cutting QE by the end of 2013

and 2. The weakening of the Yen

EUR/USD traded as low as 1.3022 before bouncing to 1.3054; it fell again a little lower, eventually getting to 1.3019 before spending the balance of the session in a sideways pattern (1.3019/1.3037 bounding it)
USD/JPY went into the first trading day of the year for Japan (Japan was closed Monday though Thursday this week) very strongly indeed, hitting 87.78 prior to the Tokyo open. It eventually got as high as 87.83; there is selling ahead of 88.00. The downside was limited to 87.56 after the earlier high, and 87.70 after the 87.83 high. It goes into the European morning near session highs, but with an article in Der Spiegel about high levels of Japanese Government debt giving USD/JPY a little wobble
GBP, AUD and NZD all followed along with the weaker EUR, with an added 'bonus' for AUD of another weak Services PMI figure (giving rise to further speculation of RBA rate cuts); the Kiwi meanwhile got its bonus sellers on triggering stops below 0.8250 - sending it rapidly to 0.8219.

Data/economics today:

The  Australian Industry Group Performance of Services Index for December came in at 43.2. This is the 11 consecutive month of contraction (sub-50 reading).
The December release of the HSBC China Services PMI came in at 51.7 (Prior was 52.1)
Late NY saw the finalisation of US December Vehicle Sales figures:
     For the full year, sales rose 13.4% to 14.5 million cars and light trucks, the highest point since 2007