Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was lower against the yen on Wednesday, as the Bank of Japan left monetary policy unchanged and markets eyed a round of loans from the European Central Bank.
USD/JPY hit 77.70 during early European trade, the pair’s lowest since December 16; the pair subsequently consolidated at 77.76, retreating 0.17%.
The pair was likely to find support at 77.47, the low of December 1 and resistance at 78.05, Tuesday’s high.
The BOJ left its benchmark interest rate unchanged close to zero, but cut its view on the economy from last month on mounting evidence of the effects of the euro zone’s debt crisis on global growth and Japan's recovery prospects.
Also Wednesday, Japanese ratings firm R&I downgraded the country’s sovereign debt rating to AA plus from AAA.
Meanwhile, investors eyed the ECB’s first offer of three-year loans programmed later in the day, as many hoped it will help the region’s banks lower their funding costs and avoid a liquidity shortage in the euro zone.
Elsewhere, the yen was lower against the euro with EUR/JPY adding 0.26%, to hit 102.16.
Earlier Wednesday, government data showed that Japan’s trade deficit expanded unexpectedly to JPY0.54 trillion in December from a deficit of JPY0.50 trillion the previous month.
Analysts had expected Japan’s trade deficit to narrow to JPY0.28 trillion in December.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce industry data on existing home sales.
USD/JPY hit 77.70 during early European trade, the pair’s lowest since December 16; the pair subsequently consolidated at 77.76, retreating 0.17%.
The pair was likely to find support at 77.47, the low of December 1 and resistance at 78.05, Tuesday’s high.
The BOJ left its benchmark interest rate unchanged close to zero, but cut its view on the economy from last month on mounting evidence of the effects of the euro zone’s debt crisis on global growth and Japan's recovery prospects.
Also Wednesday, Japanese ratings firm R&I downgraded the country’s sovereign debt rating to AA plus from AAA.
Meanwhile, investors eyed the ECB’s first offer of three-year loans programmed later in the day, as many hoped it will help the region’s banks lower their funding costs and avoid a liquidity shortage in the euro zone.
Elsewhere, the yen was lower against the euro with EUR/JPY adding 0.26%, to hit 102.16.
Earlier Wednesday, government data showed that Japan’s trade deficit expanded unexpectedly to JPY0.54 trillion in December from a deficit of JPY0.50 trillion the previous month.
Analysts had expected Japan’s trade deficit to narrow to JPY0.28 trillion in December.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce industry data on existing home sales.