Opened in early Europe at Y79.90 and Y98.95, opened in Asia at Y79.90 and ground higher to Y80.02 ahead of the Tokyo fix, before easing back to settle in a tight Y79.85 – Y80.02 range. Once again, the market was put on notice of Japanese authorities, as Finance Minister Azumi said the European debt crisis was keeping the yen high. Azumi also reminded that Japanese authorities would act “as appropriate” on yen moves. EUR/JPY was lower, but tied to a narrow 20-pip range. USD/JPY slipped on the European open to Y79.79, before meeting demand from a Japanese oil company. Rate extended gains and jumped to Y79.93 on headlines from IMF’s Lagarde that said Japan’s yen selling intervention would be justifiable if it duly consults with other countries. The pair edged lower and settled around Y79.85 ahead of key Non-Farm Payroll data. The cross opened heavy and printed Y98.71 lows before making a decent recovery and tracking EUR/USD demand from model accounts to Y99.05. Profit take sales eased to Y98.90 ahead of the NY open.
EasyForexNews Research Team