Investing.com - The euro extended gains against the yen on Thursday, as market sentiment strengthened amid fresh hopes on measures to address the debt crisis in the euro zone and after a raft of broadly better-than-expected U.S. data.
EUR/JPY hit 99.26 during European afternoon trade, the pair’s highest since January 5; the pair subsequently consolidated at 99.13, gaining 0.31%.
The pair was likely to find support at 97.67, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 100.24, the high of January 4.
The euro found support earlier after auctions of Spanish and French government debt met with solid investor demand and broadly lower yields.
Spain auctioned more than the targeted amount of medium and long term debt, selling EUR6.6 billion of bonds.
The yield on the four-year bond was 4%, up from 3.9% at the last auction, while yields on the nine and 10-year bond were lower, at 4.5%, down from 5.1% at the previous auction, and 5.4% respectively, against 6.98% in December.
Investors remained optimistic that ongoing talks between Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and the country’s creditors aimed at restructuring the country’s debt would result in a breakthrough.
Market sentiment was also boosted after official data showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week declined unexpectedly, falling to the lowest level since April 2008.
A separate report showed that U.S. consumer price inflation was flat in December. Meanwhile, U.S. building permits remained unchanged close to a 22-month high last month, while housing starts rose less-than-expected.
The euro was also higher against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD adding 0.23% to hit 1.2892.
Also Thursday, Fitch’s said that it expected its ratings review of six euro zone countries would result in downgrades of one to two notches in most cases. The review is set to be completed at the end of January.
EUR/JPY hit 99.26 during European afternoon trade, the pair’s highest since January 5; the pair subsequently consolidated at 99.13, gaining 0.31%.
The pair was likely to find support at 97.67, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 100.24, the high of January 4.
The euro found support earlier after auctions of Spanish and French government debt met with solid investor demand and broadly lower yields.
Spain auctioned more than the targeted amount of medium and long term debt, selling EUR6.6 billion of bonds.
The yield on the four-year bond was 4%, up from 3.9% at the last auction, while yields on the nine and 10-year bond were lower, at 4.5%, down from 5.1% at the previous auction, and 5.4% respectively, against 6.98% in December.
Investors remained optimistic that ongoing talks between Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and the country’s creditors aimed at restructuring the country’s debt would result in a breakthrough.
Market sentiment was also boosted after official data showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week declined unexpectedly, falling to the lowest level since April 2008.
A separate report showed that U.S. consumer price inflation was flat in December. Meanwhile, U.S. building permits remained unchanged close to a 22-month high last month, while housing starts rose less-than-expected.
The euro was also higher against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD adding 0.23% to hit 1.2892.
Also Thursday, Fitch’s said that it expected its ratings review of six euro zone countries would result in downgrades of one to two notches in most cases. The review is set to be completed at the end of January.