The Japanese Yen remained close to a 1-week trough versus its U.S. counterpart after easing overnight in the wake of a global equities rally which reduced overall appetite for safe haven assets. The Finance Minister of Japan was viewed as the impetus for the Nikkei rally after he hinted that one of Japan’s largest government pension funds should consider buying more stock. Investors are hopeful that the BOJ Governor will reaffirm that the central bank’s view of the Japanese economy is improving.
As reported at 11:29 a.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the USD/JPY gained 0.3% to trade at a high of 102.22 Yen, while the EUR/JPY struck a 2-week peak at one point in the overnight trading hours to hit 141.77 Yen. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index, which is generally perceived as a solid measure of the greenback’s relative strength, traded at 79.808 .DXYas investors try to gauge recent comments made by the Federal Reserve chief.
Yellen’s Comments Foster Uncertainty
Yesterday, Janet Yellen declared that a more accommodative policy might be in order given the slack in the U.S. economy and the long enduring low inflation. Those remarks were accepted as generally dovish and countered investors’ sentiment after recent upbeat data. Nonetheless, analysts believe that the outlook for the greenback remains positive with only upside risks at this point.