By: Barbara Zigah
The Japanese Yen struggled while the U.S. Dollar held steady in Asian trading today against high-yielding currencies such as the Australian Dollar and the single currency Euro. Investors’ risk appetite was also boosted by the recent rises in the commodity and stock markets. As reported at 3:09 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Japanese Yen slipped .4% against the U.S. Dollar, trading at 87.00 Yen. The U.S. Dollar Index held at 74.411 .DXY, hovering just above 74.17 .DXY, established last week as a new 16-month low. The high-yielding Australian dollar gained .3% on the U.S. Dollar, to trade at $0.9278 following yesterday’s nearly 1% gain. The Euro also saw gains on the U.S. Dollar and Japanese Yen, trading at $1.5094 and 131.28 Yen, adding on to yesterday’s gains of .5% and 1%, respectively.
Markets will continue to closely follow news from Japan about that government’s efforts to tackle deflationary pressure and avert a recession. The surprise announcement yesterday of a new operation aimed at minimizing short term interest rates fell far short of investor expectations. It is expected that the Japanese Government will present a new stimulus package later this week, and Bank of Japan officials said that no policy actions are being ruled out, though they remain cognizant of inflationary risks to their fragile economy if the Yen is allowed to continue its rise.