Investing.com - The U.S. dollar climbed to a one-month high against the yen on Wednesday, as the announcement of fresh easing measures by the Bank of Japan weighed broadly on demand for the yen.
USD/JPY hit 79.22 during early European trade, the pair's highest since August 22; the pair subsequently consolidated at 78.99, rising 0.22%.
The pair was likely to find support at 78.59, the session low and resistance at 79.37, the high of August 22.
Earlier in the day, the BoJ boosted the size of its monthly bond purchases by JPY10 trillion to a total of JPY80 trillion.
The JPY10 trillion increase in the asset-purchase program will be split equally towards additional purchases of treasury discount bills and Japanese government bonds, the central bank said in a statement.
The BoJ also left its policy interest-rate target unchanged in the current range of zero to 0.1%
In a statement accompanying the policy decision, the Bank of Japan said the pickup in economic activity has “come to a pause” as overseas economies moved deeper into slowdown, and that the activity was “expected to level off, more or less.”
“The bank expects that, together with the cumulative effects of earlier policy measures, today’s decision to enhance monetary easing will ensure the return of Japan’s economy to a sustainable growth path and price stability,” the central bank said.
Meanwhile, investors continued to eye developments in Spain, following reports earlier in the week that Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is uncertain about asking for help from the European Central Bank's new bond-purchasing program, which would mean signing up to a permanent bailout fund.
The yen was also sharply lower against the euro with EUR/JPY advancing 0.41%, to hit 103.27.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on building permits and on housing starts, followed by government data on crude oil stockpiles, as well as an industry report on existing home sales.
USD/JPY hit 79.22 during early European trade, the pair's highest since August 22; the pair subsequently consolidated at 78.99, rising 0.22%.
The pair was likely to find support at 78.59, the session low and resistance at 79.37, the high of August 22.
Earlier in the day, the BoJ boosted the size of its monthly bond purchases by JPY10 trillion to a total of JPY80 trillion.
The JPY10 trillion increase in the asset-purchase program will be split equally towards additional purchases of treasury discount bills and Japanese government bonds, the central bank said in a statement.
The BoJ also left its policy interest-rate target unchanged in the current range of zero to 0.1%
In a statement accompanying the policy decision, the Bank of Japan said the pickup in economic activity has “come to a pause” as overseas economies moved deeper into slowdown, and that the activity was “expected to level off, more or less.”
“The bank expects that, together with the cumulative effects of earlier policy measures, today’s decision to enhance monetary easing will ensure the return of Japan’s economy to a sustainable growth path and price stability,” the central bank said.
Meanwhile, investors continued to eye developments in Spain, following reports earlier in the week that Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is uncertain about asking for help from the European Central Bank's new bond-purchasing program, which would mean signing up to a permanent bailout fund.
The yen was also sharply lower against the euro with EUR/JPY advancing 0.41%, to hit 103.27.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on building permits and on housing starts, followed by government data on crude oil stockpiles, as well as an industry report on existing home sales.