Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was steady against the yen on Wednesday, as markets were jittery ahead of a series of highly anticipated euro zone meetings this week, while disappointing trade balance data from Japan weighed on demand for the yen.
USD/JPY hit 79.17 during early European trade, the pair’s lowest since August 16; the pair subsequently consolidated at 79.28, dipping 0.01%.
The pair was likely to find support at 79.06, the low of July 13 and resistance at 79.65, the high of August 20.
Investors remained cautious as Luxemburg’s Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who also heads the group of euro zone finance ministers, was to hold talks with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras later Wednesday, to discuss a two-year extension of the country’s economic reform program.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to meet with French President Francois Hollande on Thursday, while Antonis Samaras is to meet with the French and German leaders later in the week.
Market participants were also anticipating the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s August policy meeting later in the day, amid speculation over how close the U.S. central bank may be to implementing another round of stimulus measures.
Meanwhile, the yen came under pressure after official data earlier showed that Japan posted a worse-than-expected trade deficit in July, hurt by the euro zone’s debt crisis and a slowdown in China.
The trade gap totaled JPY517.4 billion, after posting a JPY60.3 billion surplus in June. Exports fell 8.1%, compared to expectations for a 3.1% decline. The data showed that shipments to China dropped nearly 12%.
Elsewhere, the yen was higher against the euro with EUR/JPY falling 0.20%, to hit 98.69.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release industry data on existing home sales.
USD/JPY hit 79.17 during early European trade, the pair’s lowest since August 16; the pair subsequently consolidated at 79.28, dipping 0.01%.
The pair was likely to find support at 79.06, the low of July 13 and resistance at 79.65, the high of August 20.
Investors remained cautious as Luxemburg’s Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who also heads the group of euro zone finance ministers, was to hold talks with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras later Wednesday, to discuss a two-year extension of the country’s economic reform program.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to meet with French President Francois Hollande on Thursday, while Antonis Samaras is to meet with the French and German leaders later in the week.
Market participants were also anticipating the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s August policy meeting later in the day, amid speculation over how close the U.S. central bank may be to implementing another round of stimulus measures.
Meanwhile, the yen came under pressure after official data earlier showed that Japan posted a worse-than-expected trade deficit in July, hurt by the euro zone’s debt crisis and a slowdown in China.
The trade gap totaled JPY517.4 billion, after posting a JPY60.3 billion surplus in June. Exports fell 8.1%, compared to expectations for a 3.1% decline. The data showed that shipments to China dropped nearly 12%.
Elsewhere, the yen was higher against the euro with EUR/JPY falling 0.20%, to hit 98.69.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release industry data on existing home sales.