By: Barbara Zigah
The U.S. Dollar recovered from Tuesday’s sharp drop in choppy Asian trading, as investors booked their profits from the U.S. currency’s earlier rally. As reported at 1:37 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar traded at 91.96 Yen, a gain of .2% from yesterday’s low trade of 91.25 Yen on the EBS trading platform. On Monday, the greenback had touched on a 4-month high versus the Yen on growing investor optimism over the U.S. recovery of their economy. Investors are eagerly awaiting key U.S. payrolls data to be released on Friday.
Investors will also closely watch developments in Japan following rumors that Hirohisa Fujii, the Japanese Finance Minister, will resign that position due to ill health. Market players are anxious to find out what changes, if any, a new finance minister will impose vis-à-vis the official position on fiscal policy and efforts to combat deflation. Some analysts suggest that his resignation could put pressure on the Japanese Yen, as there is no candidate yet under consideration for the position who holds such strong opinions, with the implication that intervention of the Yen’s depreciation may be possible under a new minister.