Just ahead of the Bank of Japan’s policy announcement the U.S. Dollar remained close to a 3-month trough versus the Japanese Yen. While the majority of FX investors and analysts don’t believe that the BOJ policy will be modified in any way, they will be keen to hear what the BOJ Governor will have to say in the news conference which follows with a view to any bullish commentary that could further prolong the likelihood that the central bank will stand pat in terms of additional easing. In the U.S., the prices on U.S. Treasuries edged higher after one Federal Reserve president stated that he expected the Fed to be slow to raise benchmark rates.
As reported at 11:59 a.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the USD/JPY dipped by 0.1% to trade at 101.25 Yen, not far from Monday’s 3-month trough of 101.10 Yen. The falling U.S. Treasury yields have resulted in the dollar’s 1% loss versus the Yen this month alone. The EUR/USD pair traded at $1.3703, pulling away from last week’s 2-month low. Analysts point out that with some Eurozone area Parliamentary elections scheduled for later this week that the Euro faces some pressure.
Aussie Comes under Pressure
In Australia, the Aussie Dollar extended its losses on a fall in iron ore prices; iron ore is Australia’s largest export earner. The Aussie was also feeling pressure from a media report which alleged that a credit review by Standard & Poor’s of the country’s rating could result in the lowering of its AAA rating, though S&P disputed the allegations. The AUD/USD pair traded at $0.9231, a fall of 0.1% but recovering from the session low of $0.9228.