Sydney Open Briefing: Friday, August 21, 2026
The Sydney session opens on Friday, August 21, 2026, following a mixed overnight performance in global markets, with the risk meter registering +0.32. Gold, XAUUSD, saw a notable rise of +1.50%, while the JP225 gained +0.81% and the UK100 was up +0.48%. Conversely, the US30 declined -0.45% and the US500 fell -0.23%. The USDCHF moved +0.25% higher. In currency strength over 24 hours, GBP and NZD led with +0.29% and +0.27% respectively, while JPY was the weakest at -0.56% and CHF declined -0.36%.
Recent data releases include South Korea’s PPI y/y, which came in at an actual 7.7% against a consensus of 9.2%, a surprise of -16.3%. The PPI m/m for South Korea was -0.4% compared to a consensus of 0.5%, a significant -180.0% surprise. The NZD Trade Balance 12-Months was also released at Thu 22:45 UTC, with a consensus of -2.979B, followed by the JPY CPI excl. Food and Energy y/y at Thu 23:30 UTC, with a consensus of 1.6%. US Treasury auctions saw the 30-Year TIPS yield 2.973%, the 8-Week Bill at 3.655%, and the 4-Week Bill at 3.64%. The EIA Natural Gas Storage Change was 16B, below the 21B consensus.
Looking ahead, a series of GBP Retail Sales figures are due at Fri 06:00 UTC, including Retail Sales m/m with a consensus of -0.5%, and Core Retail Sales y/y expected at 2.2%. France’s S&P Global Manufacturing PMI and Services PMI are also scheduled for Fri 07:15 UTC. Positioning shifts show the crowd on NZDUSD moving from 58% long to 52% short, and on EURGBP from 53% long to 53% short. Retail books also show a 22-point disagreement on EURUSD, and the crowd book on XAUUSD shifted 8 points toward short.
Traders will be particularly focused on the GBP Retail Sales data scheduled for the European session.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Biggest moves since the previous session | XAUUSD +1.50%, JP225 +0.81%, UK100 +0.48% |
| Currency strength, 24h | GBP strongest at +0.29%, JPY weakest at -0.56% |
| Risk meter | +0.32 (risk-on) |
Scheduled this session (High and Medium impact)
| Time | Ccy | Event | Impact | Consensus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22:45 UTC | NZD | Trade Balance 12-Months | Medium | -2.979B |
| 23:30 UTC | JPY | CPI excl. Food and Energy y/y | Medium | 1.6% |
| 06:00 UTC | GBP | Retail Sales y/y | Medium | 1.5% |
| 06:00 UTC | GBP | Core Retail Sales m/m | Medium | 1.1% |
| 06:00 UTC | GBP | Core Retail Sales y/y | Medium | 2.2% |
| 06:00 UTC | GBP | UK Retail Sales m/m | Medium | -0.5% |
| 07:15 UTC | EUR | France S&P Global Manufacturing PMI | Medium | 50.1 |
| 07:15 UTC | EUR | France S&P Global Services PMI | Medium | 49.6 |
Times are UTC. This brief describes measured market state and the published schedule. It is not financial advice and nothing in it is a trade recommendation.