Investing.com - The U.S. dollar traded modestly lower against the Japanese yen during Wednesday’s Asian as traders awaited the Federal Reserve's decision on monetary policy later Wednesday.
In Asian trading Wednesday, USD/JPY inched down 0.04% to 98.00 after earlier trading as low as 97.85. The pair was likely to find resistance at 100.45, Wednesday's high, and support at 97.64, Monday's low.
In a report released earlier Wednesday, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said that Japan’s average cash earnings rose 0.1% in the second quarter following a first-quarter reading of -0.1%. Analysts expected a second-quarter increase of 0.2%.
Boosting personal incomes is Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s so-called third arrow of economic rejuvenation for the world’s third-largest economy. However, it could stake more stimulus from the Bank of Japan to help the yen resume the downtrend that has made it the world’s worst-performing developed market currency this year.
Japanese equities have sagged in recent weeks as the yen has gained strength, due in part to the currency’s status as a safe-haven alternative to the greenback. Some traders see recently strong Japanese economic data as a sign that BoJ will not need to engage in further stimulus.
In April, BoJ said it would inject USD1.4 trillion into the Japanese economy to get it moving again. Given the size of that program and with Japanese interest rates in negative territory in real terms, the central bank has few tools left at its disposal, though it could increase the pace of its stimulus efforts to engineer renewed faith in Japanese stocks.
Elsewhere, AUD/JPY fell 0.32% to 88.61 while NZD/JPY inched down 0.03% to 78.29.
In Asian trading Wednesday, USD/JPY inched down 0.04% to 98.00 after earlier trading as low as 97.85. The pair was likely to find resistance at 100.45, Wednesday's high, and support at 97.64, Monday's low.
In a report released earlier Wednesday, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said that Japan’s average cash earnings rose 0.1% in the second quarter following a first-quarter reading of -0.1%. Analysts expected a second-quarter increase of 0.2%.
Boosting personal incomes is Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s so-called third arrow of economic rejuvenation for the world’s third-largest economy. However, it could stake more stimulus from the Bank of Japan to help the yen resume the downtrend that has made it the world’s worst-performing developed market currency this year.
Japanese equities have sagged in recent weeks as the yen has gained strength, due in part to the currency’s status as a safe-haven alternative to the greenback. Some traders see recently strong Japanese economic data as a sign that BoJ will not need to engage in further stimulus.
In April, BoJ said it would inject USD1.4 trillion into the Japanese economy to get it moving again. Given the size of that program and with Japanese interest rates in negative territory in real terms, the central bank has few tools left at its disposal, though it could increase the pace of its stimulus efforts to engineer renewed faith in Japanese stocks.
Elsewhere, AUD/JPY fell 0.32% to 88.61 while NZD/JPY inched down 0.03% to 78.29.