Forex - USD/JPY steady as Greece events dominate

Published 05/17/2012, 03:18 AM
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EUR/JPY
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Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was steady against the yen on Thursday, as investors remained cautious amid concerns over political uncertainty in Athens and the threat of a Greek exit from the euro zone.

USD/JPY hit 80.25 during early European trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 80.32, inching down 0.02%.

The pair was likely to find support at 80.09, the low of May 3 and resistance at 80.60, the high of May 2.

Markets were jittery as fears escalated over the effects of a possible Greek exit from the euro zone on other ailing nations, such as Italy and Spain, and after World Bank President Robert Zoellick said such an event could undermine confidence in the euro area and trigger another liquidity crisis.

In addition, the European Central Bank stopped providing liquidity to a number of Greek banks as they are severely undercapitalized, moving them to an emergency liquidity assistance program.

Meanwhile, the greenback came under pressure after Federal Reserve policymakers said they are open to further efforts to stimulate the U.S. economy if growth falters or threats escalate.

The minutes of the central bank's April 24-25 meeting released Wednesday stated that "several members" thought additional Fed support could be needed if the recovery lost momentum or if the risks to the economy became great enough.

In Japan, preliminary data showed earlier that gross domestic product rose 1.0% in the first quarter, exceeding expectations for a 0.9% increase and following a flat reading in the previous quarter.

The yen was also steady against the euro with EUR/JPY easing 0.01%, to hit 102.16.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce government data on unemployment claims, followed by a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.


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