Japanese Yen Declines Against Majors
The Japanese yen edged lower on Tuesday morning in Asia despite most weak Asian stocks.
If stocks decline, the yen tends to gain on Japan’s low interest rate and vice-versa.
After a weak start and a subsequent recovery from lower levels, the Japanese stock market is losing ground again today with investors pressing sales amid concerns over the impact of euro zone’s sovereign debt woes on the global economy.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which recovered to 9,956.8 after an early fall to around 9,867, is currently trading at 9,910, down 41.8 points or 0.42% from its previous close.
The yen that closed Monday’s North American deals at 83.19 against the Swiss franc and 121.84 against the euro declined to 83.49 and 122.41, respectively, around 9:20 pm ET. Currently, the yen is quoted at 122.25 against the euro and 83.35 against the Swiss franc.
Against the pound, the yen drifted lower to 139.68 around 9:20 pm ET from a high of 138.85 hit earlier in the session. The pound-yen pair is presently trading at 139.5, compared to 139.13 hit late New York Monday.
Thirty-two percent of surveyors in the United Kingdom expect house prices to rise rather than fall, the January issue of the Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors’ survey revealed today. That was higher than the 27 percent that analysts had been expecting following the 30 percent total in December.
At the same time, retail sales in the united Kingdom were up just 1.2 percent on year in January, the British Retail Consortium said today, the weakest annual gain in 15 years. Retail sales had risen a revised 3.2 percent on year in December.
The yen that finished Monday’s New York trading at 89.27 against the US dollar edged lower to 89.5 around 9:20 pm ET Monday. The greenback-yen pair is presently quoted at 89.42.
The Japanese yen also weakened against the commodity-linked currencies.
The yen declined to 61.34 against the NZ dollar and 77.57 against the Australian dollar around 9:20 pm ET Monday, compared to yesterday’s closing values of 61.0 and 77.2, respectively. The yen is presently quoted at 61.24 against the kiwi and 77.39 against the aussie.
The Japanese currency that jumped to a 4-day high of 82.86 against the Canadian dollar earlier in the session pulled back and hit a low of 83.4 around 9:20 pm ET Monday. The loonie-yen pair that was worth 83.01 at Monday’s North American close is currently quoted at 83.27.
Looking ahead, Japan is set to release its preliminary machine tool orders report for January at 1:00 am ET Tuesday.
From Europe, the German trade balance and current account for December and the final consumer price index for January are slated for release in the upcoming session. The U.K. December trade balance is also due for release.
Across the Atlantic, the US Commerce Department is due to release its wholesale inventories report at 10:00 am ET. Economists expect wholesale inventories at the end of December to show a 0.5% increase.
