Investing.com - The dollar was trading close to four-year highs against the yen on Wednesday as the effects of the Bank of Japan’s huge monetary easing steps continued to be felt in markets.
During European morning trade, the dollar was hovering just below its highest level since May 2009 against the yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.45% to 99.44.
The yen’s weakening trend looked likely to remain intact after the BoJ announced last week that it was embarking on a massive monetary stimulus program aimed at beating deflation in the world’s third-largest economy.
The dollar was near five-week lows against the euro, with EUR/USD easing up 0.12% to 1.3098.
Demand for the single currency was underpinned as expectations that investors would move away from Japanese government bonds into higher yielding assets pushed bond yields lower across the euro zone.
Meanwhile, data showing that French industrial output rebounded in February offset a report showing that industrial production in Spain fell sharply in the same month.
The dollar was little changed against the pound, with GBP/USD dipping 0.02% to 1.5318.
Sterling remained supported after data on Tuesday showing that U.K. factory output rebounded in February eased concerns over the risk of a triple-dip recession.
The dollar was lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF down 0.19% to 0.9307.
The greenback was broadly lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD losing 0.19% to trade at 1.0143, AUD/USD rising 0.33% to 1.0522 and NZD/USD up 0.32% to 0.8551.
The growth linked dollars were bolstered after official data showed that China posted an unexpected trade surplus in March as imports rose sharply to outstrip exports.
The data helped eased concerns over weakening domestic demand in the world’s second largest economy.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dipped 0.05% to 82.40.
Investors were looking ahead to the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting later in the day.
Markets were waiting to see if the U.S. central bank discussed the possibility of an earlier-than-expected end to its quantitative easing program at its March meeting, after examining the possibility at its previous two meetings.
During European morning trade, the dollar was hovering just below its highest level since May 2009 against the yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.45% to 99.44.
The yen’s weakening trend looked likely to remain intact after the BoJ announced last week that it was embarking on a massive monetary stimulus program aimed at beating deflation in the world’s third-largest economy.
The dollar was near five-week lows against the euro, with EUR/USD easing up 0.12% to 1.3098.
Demand for the single currency was underpinned as expectations that investors would move away from Japanese government bonds into higher yielding assets pushed bond yields lower across the euro zone.
Meanwhile, data showing that French industrial output rebounded in February offset a report showing that industrial production in Spain fell sharply in the same month.
The dollar was little changed against the pound, with GBP/USD dipping 0.02% to 1.5318.
Sterling remained supported after data on Tuesday showing that U.K. factory output rebounded in February eased concerns over the risk of a triple-dip recession.
The dollar was lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF down 0.19% to 0.9307.
The greenback was broadly lower against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD losing 0.19% to trade at 1.0143, AUD/USD rising 0.33% to 1.0522 and NZD/USD up 0.32% to 0.8551.
The growth linked dollars were bolstered after official data showed that China posted an unexpected trade surplus in March as imports rose sharply to outstrip exports.
The data helped eased concerns over weakening domestic demand in the world’s second largest economy.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dipped 0.05% to 82.40.
Investors were looking ahead to the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting later in the day.
Markets were waiting to see if the U.S. central bank discussed the possibility of an earlier-than-expected end to its quantitative easing program at its March meeting, after examining the possibility at its previous two meetings.