Investing.com - The U.S. dollar rallied against the yen on Thursday, following a rebound in the yen earlier in the week, while the euro was little changed against the dollar following the release of mixed euro zone economic data.
During European morning trade, the dollar was sharply higher against the yen, with USD/JPY up 1.02% to 89.51.
The dollar strengthened against the yen after Japan’s Vice Finance Minister Takehiko Nakao said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that the government was “closely monitoring” movements in the currency market and was prepared to take appropriate action if necessary.
Elsewhere, official data showed that Japan’s annual trade deficit rose to a record JPY6.93 trillion in December, as exports fell 5.8% year-on-year.
The greenback was almost unchanged against the euro, with EUR/USD dipping 0.02% to 1.3316.
Data in the euro zone indicated that manufacturing activity in Germany and the wider euro zone improved in January, but indicated that France, the bloc’s second largest economy, may be in a recession.
Germany’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 48.8 from 46.0 in December, still below the 50 level that separates contraction from expansion.
Germany’s private sector expanded at the fastest pace in more than a year, with the services PMI rising to 55.3 for January, compared with 52.0 in December.
The euro zone manufacturing PMI rose to a 10-month high of 47.5 in January from a final reading of 46.1 in December, while the services PMI came in at 48.3 from 47.8 in December.
The French manufacturing PMI fell to a four-month low of 42.9 this month, while the services PMI came in at 43.6.
The greenback was trading close to five-month highs against the pound, with GBP/USD slipping 0.08% to 1.5831.
The greenback edged higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF easing up 0.13% to 0.9305.
The greenback was mixed against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD inching up 0.02% to 0.9991, AUD/USD down 0.45% to 1.0507 and NZD/USD slipping 0.09% to 0.8415.
The commodity currencies ad found support earlier in the session after data showed that China’s preliminary HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers’ index improved to 51.9 in January, a two-year high, from a final reading of 51.5 in December.
The upbeat data added to signs of a rebound in the world’s second largest economy.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, rose 0.17% to 80.13.
The U.S. was to release the weekly government report on initial jobless claims later in the trading day.
During European morning trade, the dollar was sharply higher against the yen, with USD/JPY up 1.02% to 89.51.
The dollar strengthened against the yen after Japan’s Vice Finance Minister Takehiko Nakao said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that the government was “closely monitoring” movements in the currency market and was prepared to take appropriate action if necessary.
Elsewhere, official data showed that Japan’s annual trade deficit rose to a record JPY6.93 trillion in December, as exports fell 5.8% year-on-year.
The greenback was almost unchanged against the euro, with EUR/USD dipping 0.02% to 1.3316.
Data in the euro zone indicated that manufacturing activity in Germany and the wider euro zone improved in January, but indicated that France, the bloc’s second largest economy, may be in a recession.
Germany’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 48.8 from 46.0 in December, still below the 50 level that separates contraction from expansion.
Germany’s private sector expanded at the fastest pace in more than a year, with the services PMI rising to 55.3 for January, compared with 52.0 in December.
The euro zone manufacturing PMI rose to a 10-month high of 47.5 in January from a final reading of 46.1 in December, while the services PMI came in at 48.3 from 47.8 in December.
The French manufacturing PMI fell to a four-month low of 42.9 this month, while the services PMI came in at 43.6.
The greenback was trading close to five-month highs against the pound, with GBP/USD slipping 0.08% to 1.5831.
The greenback edged higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF easing up 0.13% to 0.9305.
The greenback was mixed against its Canadian, Australian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD inching up 0.02% to 0.9991, AUD/USD down 0.45% to 1.0507 and NZD/USD slipping 0.09% to 0.8415.
The commodity currencies ad found support earlier in the session after data showed that China’s preliminary HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers’ index improved to 51.9 in January, a two-year high, from a final reading of 51.5 in December.
The upbeat data added to signs of a rebound in the world’s second largest economy.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, rose 0.17% to 80.13.
The U.S. was to release the weekly government report on initial jobless claims later in the trading day.