The U.S. Dollar surged versus the Japanese Yen, rising to a 7-year high in the wake of the Bank of Japan’s newest easing efforts. The BOJ increased the size of asset purchases which once again weakened the Yen; the BOJ hopes that this move will help to give stagnant growth a much-needed boost. Analysts say that the BOJ’s move is giving rise to increasing speculation that this week’s meeting of the European Central Bank could result in a similar push with more Quantitative Easing on the table; that speculation led to the greenback hitting a 2-year peak versus the common currency Euro.
As reported at 10:12 a.m. (GMT) in London, the USD/JPY was trading at a session high of 113.4215 Yen before easing back slightly to 113.3950 Yen. The EUR/USD is currently lower at $1.2494, moving off the session low of $1.2449. The U.S. Dollar Index, a gauge of the greenback’s relative weight versus major peers, is higher at 87.1470 .DXY.
China Growth Worries to Continue
In China, the National Bureau of Statistics reported that the services sector reading came in at 53.8, in October down from 54.0 in September, while the reading for factory activity hit 50.8 from 51.0, dropping to a 5-month low, providing further evidence that growth in the second largest economy in the world is continuing to slow.