With the Christmas holidays just ahead, lackluster trade is already surfacing for the major currencies with the Yen, Euro and greenback barely moving during Asian trade. For the Japanese Yen, market players are unlikely to see any true momentum as a holiday there impacts trade. Currency strategists agree that given the recent volatility, especially for the U.S. Dollar which was left reeling from Fed uncertainty, market players are likely to take to the sidelines. However, there was still some profit to be eked out for some of the commodity-linked currencies such as the Canadian and Australian Dollars, which benefited from the subdued trade on the majors.
As reported at 11:46 a.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the USD/JPY pair traded at 104.05 Japanese Yen, staying range-bound within 103.92 and 104.08 Yen, and slipping away from last Friday’s 5-year high sat at 104.64 Yen. The EUR/USD traded at $1.3674, moving away from the 2-week low of $1.3624 which was established last Friday; the EUR/JPY was trading flat at 142.28 Yen. The AUD/USD edged away from a recently struck 3½ year low and traded at $0.8925, while the USD/CAD was higher at C$1.0641.
Markets Instructed to Watch for Data
Last week, the Fed surprised markets by announcing its intent to begin scaling back its accommodative stance. As a result of that announcement, market analysts are largely advising clients to stand at the ready until solid and fresh economic data arrives which can support the upward momentum for the greenback. Later today, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis will be releasing personal consumption data for November while a key survey of consumer sentiment is also due to be released.