Investing.com - The U.S. dollar climbed to a six-month high against the broadly weaker yen on Wednesday, after last week’s decision by the Bank of Japan to implement further monetary easing measures and following an agreement on a second bailout for Greece.
USD/JPY hit 80.18 during late Asian trade, the pair’s highest since August 4; the pair subsequently consolidated at 80.16, gaining 0.53%.
The pair was likely to find support at 79.66, the session low and resistance at 80.82, the high of July 11.
The yen has remained under pressure since last week’s decision by Japan’s central bank to increase the size of its asset-purchase program to JPY30 trillion and set a 1% goal for inflation in an attempt to boost growth and protect the economy from the effects of the strong yen.
Earlier this week, official data showed that Japan posted a record trade deficit in January, fanning concerns that the strong yen is having a negative impact on the country’s largely export driven economy.
Furthermore, ratings agency Standard & Poor's said Monday that the outlook on Japan's AA- sovereign credit rating remained negative and warned that it expected Japan's fiscal flexibility "to continue to diminish."
Safe haven demand has also waned after euro zone finance ministers agreed on a EUR130 billion rescue package for Greece on Tuesday, although concerns over Greece’s ability to implement the terms of the package have persisted.
The yen was also lower against the euro, with EUR/JPY surging 0.70% to hit 106.26.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish industry data on existing home sales, while the euro zone was to produce preliminary data on manufacturing a service sector activity.
USD/JPY hit 80.18 during late Asian trade, the pair’s highest since August 4; the pair subsequently consolidated at 80.16, gaining 0.53%.
The pair was likely to find support at 79.66, the session low and resistance at 80.82, the high of July 11.
The yen has remained under pressure since last week’s decision by Japan’s central bank to increase the size of its asset-purchase program to JPY30 trillion and set a 1% goal for inflation in an attempt to boost growth and protect the economy from the effects of the strong yen.
Earlier this week, official data showed that Japan posted a record trade deficit in January, fanning concerns that the strong yen is having a negative impact on the country’s largely export driven economy.
Furthermore, ratings agency Standard & Poor's said Monday that the outlook on Japan's AA- sovereign credit rating remained negative and warned that it expected Japan's fiscal flexibility "to continue to diminish."
Safe haven demand has also waned after euro zone finance ministers agreed on a EUR130 billion rescue package for Greece on Tuesday, although concerns over Greece’s ability to implement the terms of the package have persisted.
The yen was also lower against the euro, with EUR/JPY surging 0.70% to hit 106.26.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish industry data on existing home sales, while the euro zone was to produce preliminary data on manufacturing a service sector activity.