Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was little changed against the yen on Monday after official data showed that Japan’s economy contracted at the fastest rate since the 2011 earthquake disaster in the three months to September.
USD/JPY hit 79.41 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 79.45, dipping 0.02%.
The pair was likely to find support at 79.06, Friday’s low and resistance at 80.00, last Thursday’s high.
Japan’s economy contracted by 0.9% in the third quarter, bringing the annualized rate of contraction to 3.5% as exports, consumption and business investment tumbled.
Following the data, Japan’s Economics Minister Seiji Maehara said he expects the Bank of Japan to continue to pursue powerful easing measures and said that the government and central bank would work together to beat deflation and encourage economic recovery.
The report was offset by official data from China over the weekend showing that exports increased by 11.6% from a year earlier in October, while the trade surplus widened to the largest in almost four years.
Safe haven demand continued to be underpinned by concerns over the U.S. fiscal cliff, automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1, which could threaten U.S. and global growth.
The yen was higher against the euro, with EUR/JPY slipping 0.11% to 100.89.
Later Monday, the eurogroup of finance ministers were to hold talks in Brussels to discuss unlocking Greece’s next tranche of aid after the country’s parliament approved an austerity budget for 2013 on Sunday.
USD/JPY hit 79.41 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 79.45, dipping 0.02%.
The pair was likely to find support at 79.06, Friday’s low and resistance at 80.00, last Thursday’s high.
Japan’s economy contracted by 0.9% in the third quarter, bringing the annualized rate of contraction to 3.5% as exports, consumption and business investment tumbled.
Following the data, Japan’s Economics Minister Seiji Maehara said he expects the Bank of Japan to continue to pursue powerful easing measures and said that the government and central bank would work together to beat deflation and encourage economic recovery.
The report was offset by official data from China over the weekend showing that exports increased by 11.6% from a year earlier in October, while the trade surplus widened to the largest in almost four years.
Safe haven demand continued to be underpinned by concerns over the U.S. fiscal cliff, automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1, which could threaten U.S. and global growth.
The yen was higher against the euro, with EUR/JPY slipping 0.11% to 100.89.
Later Monday, the eurogroup of finance ministers were to hold talks in Brussels to discuss unlocking Greece’s next tranche of aid after the country’s parliament approved an austerity budget for 2013 on Sunday.