Investing.com - The euro rallied more than 1% against the yen on Thursday, as the yen weakened following a rebound earlier in the week and better-than-expected euro zone and German manufacturing data buoyed the single currency.
EUR/JPY hit 119.58 during European late morning trade, the pair’s highest since Tuesday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 119.42, jumping 1.19%.
The pair was likely to find support at 117.56, the session low and resistance at 120.70, the high of January 18 and a 20-month high.
The yen turned broadly lower after Japan’s Vice Finance Minister Takehiko Nakao said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that the government was “closely monitoring” movements in the currency market and was prepared to take appropriate action if necessary.
Elsewhere, official data showed that Japan’s annual trade deficit rose to a record JPY6.93 trillion in December, as exports fell 5.8% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, data in the euro zone showed that manufacturing activity in Germany and the wider euro zone improved in January, but indicated that France, the bloc’s second largest economy, may be in a recession.
Germany’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 48.8 from 46.0 in December, still below the 50 level that separates contraction from expansion.
Germany’s private sector expanded at the fastest pace in more than a year, with the services PMI rising to 55.3 for January, compared with 52.0 in December.
The euro zone manufacturing PMI rose to a 10-month high of 47.5 in January from a final reading of 46.1 in December, while the services PMI came in at 48.3 from 47.8 in December.
The French manufacturing PMI fell to a four-month low of 42.9 this month, while the services PMI came in at 43.6.
The euro was slightly higher against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD up 0.08% to 1.3325 and was trading close to 10-month highs against the pound, with EUR/GBP up 0.18% to 0.8418.
The U.S. was to release the weekly government report on initial jobless claims later in the trading day.
EUR/JPY hit 119.58 during European late morning trade, the pair’s highest since Tuesday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 119.42, jumping 1.19%.
The pair was likely to find support at 117.56, the session low and resistance at 120.70, the high of January 18 and a 20-month high.
The yen turned broadly lower after Japan’s Vice Finance Minister Takehiko Nakao said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that the government was “closely monitoring” movements in the currency market and was prepared to take appropriate action if necessary.
Elsewhere, official data showed that Japan’s annual trade deficit rose to a record JPY6.93 trillion in December, as exports fell 5.8% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, data in the euro zone showed that manufacturing activity in Germany and the wider euro zone improved in January, but indicated that France, the bloc’s second largest economy, may be in a recession.
Germany’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 48.8 from 46.0 in December, still below the 50 level that separates contraction from expansion.
Germany’s private sector expanded at the fastest pace in more than a year, with the services PMI rising to 55.3 for January, compared with 52.0 in December.
The euro zone manufacturing PMI rose to a 10-month high of 47.5 in January from a final reading of 46.1 in December, while the services PMI came in at 48.3 from 47.8 in December.
The French manufacturing PMI fell to a four-month low of 42.9 this month, while the services PMI came in at 43.6.
The euro was slightly higher against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD up 0.08% to 1.3325 and was trading close to 10-month highs against the pound, with EUR/GBP up 0.18% to 0.8418.
The U.S. was to release the weekly government report on initial jobless claims later in the trading day.