Japanese Yen Slips versus Greenback and Euro in Light Asian Trading

In lackluster Asian trading today, the Japanese Yen slipped versus both the common currency Euro and the U.S. Dollar. Nonetheless, the Yen managed to hold on just shy of the key psychological level (95.00 Yen), indications that the Yen has found support prior to the release of employment data out of the United States later this week. As reported at 1:15 pm (SGT) in Singapore, the U.S. Dollar traded at 94.84 Yen, a slight increase from late New York trading yesterday when it struck 94.59 Yen.

This week, non-farm payroll data will be released by the U.S. Labor Department, and analysts suggest that the outcome will likely support the U.S. Dollar’s rise versus the Yen, with resistance pegged at 95.25 Yen. This data, coupled with expectations that the Federal Reserve Bank will hike interest rates within the next few months given the improvement in the pace of the economic recovery, will help the greenback rally. Conversely, the Japanese central bank is not expected to make any changes to their current low rates, as their economy continues to struggle.

Trading in Asian markets has been somewhat subdued as a result of the Golden Week celebration, which will continue through tomorrow. Japan’s markets will reopen on Thursday.