Forex - Yen ticks slightly weaker ahead of Bank of Japan policy details
Published Sep 20, 2016 07:02PM ET
Yen weaker ahead of BoJ
Investing.com - The Japanese yen ticked slightly weaker in Asia on Wednesday ahead of a highly-anticipated central bank board meeting announcement seen as crucial for policy clarity.
USD/JPY changed hands at 101.72, up 0.02%, while AUD/USD traded at 0.7558, up 0.03%.
The Bank of Japan policy meeting results on Wednesday could see crucial changes to its easing program that include a possible interest rate cut deeper into negative territory, tweaks to its asset-purchase program or new rules on the duration of securities it will purchase in the bond market.
The BoJ has already implemented negative interest rates on some bank holdings and is printing ¥80 trillion ($750 billion) a year to stimulate inflation after decades of deflation and stagnant growth, yet inflationary expectations appear to be weakening.
Also in Japan, trade balance data for August is due with a surplus of ¥202 billion expected and imports down 17.8% and exports at a 4.8% decline, the 11th straight drop, year-on-year.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was last quoted at 95.97.
Overnight, the dollar held steady against the other major currencies in subdued trade on Tuesday, after the release of downbeat U.S. housing sector data as investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan’s policy statements due on Wednesday.
The U.S. Commerce Department said housing starts dropped 5.8% to 1.142 million units last month from July’s total of 1.212 million units. Analysts had expected a decline of 1.7% in August.
Meanwhile, the number of building permits issued declined 0.4% to 1.139 million units from 1.144 million. Economists had forecast a 2.5% rise to 1.170 million units in August.
Investors remained cautious with the U.S. dollar ahead of the Fed’s monthly policy meeting, set to begin later Tuesday, amid ongoing uncertainty over a possible rate hike. Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool shows a 15% market expectation for a rate hike.
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Written By: Investing.com
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