Investing.com - The yen and Aussie held largely steady in early Asia on Monday with trade data out of Tokyo coming up and markets focused on prospects for more central bank easing moves.
USD/JPY traded at 118.76, flat, while AUD/USD changed hands at 0.7005, up 0.01%.
In Japan, the December trade balance is due with a surplus of Y100 billion seen. Expectations are that exports fell 6.8%, while imports declined 16.4%.
In the week ahead, investors will be looking to Wednesday’s Fed policy statement for any indication that the bank is considering slowing the path of interest rate increases this year.
Markets will also be looking to Friday’s data on U.S. fourth quarter gross domestic product, which is expected to show that growth slowed to a modest 0.8% from 2.0% in the third quarter.
Later on Monday, Australia is to release private sector data on business confidence, and in the euro zone, the Ifo Institute is to report on German business climate. ECB head Mario Draghi is to speak at an event in Frankfurt.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was quoted at 99.63, up 0.04%.
Last week, the dollar rose against the other major currencies on Friday as expectations for fresh central bank easing bolstered risk appetite, dampening safe haven demand for the yen and the Swiss franc.
The yen weakened after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said Friday the central bank has room to provide additional stimulus if necessary.
The dollar rose to one-month highs against the traditional safe haven Swiss franc, with USD/CHF rising 0.83% to 1.0156 in late trade.
The euro remained on the defensive after European Central Bank Mario Draghi signaled Thursday that fresh easing measures could be rolled out as soon as the bank’s next meeting in March.
Expectations of fresh central bank stimulus bolstered sentiment in global financial markets. Global stocks strengthened after major declines since the start of the year and oil prices rebounded 10%, one of the largest daily rallies ever.
Indications of further possible stimulus also underlined the diverging monetary policy stance between the Federal Reserve and other world central banks. Higher U.S. interest rates would make the dollar more attractive to yield-seeking investors.