By: Barbara Zigah
With the question of policy tightening by the Federal Reserve still in the fore, the U.S. Dollar struck a 2-month peak versus the Japanese Yen in Asian trading today. As reported at 2:28 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar traded at 92.26 Yen, the highest price since October; this year the U.S. Dollar has gained nearly 1.7% on the Yen compared to 2008 when it lost nearly 19%. Some market players are expecting that the 92.33 Yen peak struck in October will be put to the test soon. U.S. data reported over the past month has helped the greenback move away from a 14-year trough versus the Japanese Yen, as well as lifted its value versus other major currencies. Against the Euro, the Dollar rose .2% to $1.4325 on the EBS platform. The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the U.S. currency’s value versus a basket of major currencies, traded at 77.994 DXY, a gain of .2%.
Traders are hoping that upcoming economic data will give them an idea of Federal Reserve policy changes, including a change to their historic low interest rate. Elsewhere, the Japanese central bank is not expected to make any changes to their low interest rates, and indeed, it’s expected that they make implement additional easing measures. If that should happen, the Japanese Yen may well become the preferred funding currency for high yielding assets.
U.S. Dollar moves up on Japanese Yen as Central Banks’ Paths Promise Divergence
Barbara Zigah