Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was trading at 20-month highs against the yen on Wednesday, as expectations for further monetary easing by the Bank of Japan this week weighed down the yen.
USD/JPY hit 84.43 during late Asian trade, the pair’s highest since mid-April 2011; the pair subsequently consolidated at 84.36, gaining 0.19%.
The pair was likely to find support at 83.81, Tuesday’s low and resistance at 85.49, the high of April 7, 2011.
Expectations that the BoJ would announce more aggressive easing steps after its policy meeting on Thursday mounted following an election victory for Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party over the weekend.
Incoming Prime Minister and LDP leader Shinzo Abe favors further easing by the BoJ in order to meet the bank’s 2% inflation target and spur growth in the recession hit economy.
Earlier Wednesday, official data showed that Japan posted an annual trade deficit of JPY953.4 billion in November, the fifth successive month of deficit and the third-largest deficit on record.
Exports fell 4.1% from a year earlier, while imports rose 0.8%, the Finance Ministry said.
The yen dropped to 16-month lows against the euro, with EUR/JPY up 0.29% to 111.69.
Later Wednesday, the Ifo Institute was to release a report on German business climate, while the U.S. was to publish government data on building permits, housing starts and crude oil stockpiles.
USD/JPY hit 84.43 during late Asian trade, the pair’s highest since mid-April 2011; the pair subsequently consolidated at 84.36, gaining 0.19%.
The pair was likely to find support at 83.81, Tuesday’s low and resistance at 85.49, the high of April 7, 2011.
Expectations that the BoJ would announce more aggressive easing steps after its policy meeting on Thursday mounted following an election victory for Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party over the weekend.
Incoming Prime Minister and LDP leader Shinzo Abe favors further easing by the BoJ in order to meet the bank’s 2% inflation target and spur growth in the recession hit economy.
Earlier Wednesday, official data showed that Japan posted an annual trade deficit of JPY953.4 billion in November, the fifth successive month of deficit and the third-largest deficit on record.
Exports fell 4.1% from a year earlier, while imports rose 0.8%, the Finance Ministry said.
The yen dropped to 16-month lows against the euro, with EUR/JPY up 0.29% to 111.69.
Later Wednesday, the Ifo Institute was to release a report on German business climate, while the U.S. was to publish government data on building permits, housing starts and crude oil stockpiles.