Japanese Importers Dominate Asian Currency Trading, Sending Dollar and Euro Higher

By: Barbara Zigah

In the Asian currency market this morning, the U.S. Dollar and common currency Euro were pushed higher versus the Japanese Yen as importers from Japan bought those currencies heavily to settle their accounts. As at 1:50 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar traded at 94.17 Yen, off of last night’s 93.71 Yen trade in New York. Some market players believe that the greenback could continue to rise against the Yen, possibly to 95.00 Yen, provided that the upcoming U.S. Treasury auction results in higher yields; 10 year bonds will be auctioned later today, and 30 year bonds will be put on the auction block tomorrow. Meanwhile, the Euro moved higher to 126.05 Yen, from the late New York trade of 125.63 Yen, though gains in the Euro appear to be short-lived given the continuing worries over Greek sovereign debt.

Market players will be on the alert for monetary news from Japan later today; Masaaki Shirakawa, Governor of the Bank of Japan, will be holding a press conference to provide details of the recently concluded policy meeting, though most participants don’t believe that any changes to their current monetary policy will be forthcoming.