Investing.com - The U.S. dollar edged higher against the yen on Wednesday, as ongoing concerns over euro zone sovereign funding ahead of Italian and Spanish bond auctions supported safe haven demand.
USD/JPY hit 76.94 during late Asian trade, the pair’s highest since January 9; the pair subsequently consolidated at 76.92, rising 0.09%.
The pair was likely to find support at 76.64, the low of January 5 and resistance at 77.14, the high of November 16.
Investors were cautious as Spain and Italy prepared to sell as much as EUR17 billion in debt on Thursday and Friday respectively.
The yield on 10-year Italian government bonds remained above the 7% threshold seen as unsustainable, at 7.14%, while the yield on Spanish 10-year bonds was at 5.54%.
Markets were also jittery ahead of Thursday’s European Central Bank policy meeting. The ECB was expected to keep rates unchanged at 1% and to reiterate that governments in the euro zone must step up efforts to tackle the region’s debt crisis.
Earlier Wednesday, Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said there are limits to what monetary policy can achieve and governments must implement “necessary” reforms to aid the global economy.
Shirakawa added that the yen’s strength will “hurt the Japanese economy in the short term,” after the central bank lowered its economic assessment for a second straight month in December.
Elsewhere, the yen was fractionally lower against the euro with EUR/JPY edging up 0.07%, to hit 98.27.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce official data on crude oil stockpiles, while the Federal Reserve was to release its Beige Book.
USD/JPY hit 76.94 during late Asian trade, the pair’s highest since January 9; the pair subsequently consolidated at 76.92, rising 0.09%.
The pair was likely to find support at 76.64, the low of January 5 and resistance at 77.14, the high of November 16.
Investors were cautious as Spain and Italy prepared to sell as much as EUR17 billion in debt on Thursday and Friday respectively.
The yield on 10-year Italian government bonds remained above the 7% threshold seen as unsustainable, at 7.14%, while the yield on Spanish 10-year bonds was at 5.54%.
Markets were also jittery ahead of Thursday’s European Central Bank policy meeting. The ECB was expected to keep rates unchanged at 1% and to reiterate that governments in the euro zone must step up efforts to tackle the region’s debt crisis.
Earlier Wednesday, Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said there are limits to what monetary policy can achieve and governments must implement “necessary” reforms to aid the global economy.
Shirakawa added that the yen’s strength will “hurt the Japanese economy in the short term,” after the central bank lowered its economic assessment for a second straight month in December.
Elsewhere, the yen was fractionally lower against the euro with EUR/JPY edging up 0.07%, to hit 98.27.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce official data on crude oil stockpiles, while the Federal Reserve was to release its Beige Book.