The pair opened at Y104.18 this morning after a hushed overnight US holiday session, which saw the pair mark a Y103.92 to Y104.22 range. The pair broke higher in early trades, pushing past the overnight high to Y104.30 even before Japanese stocks opened in positive territory. The pair was then carried higher as demand from Japanese accounts picked up, with dollar-yen then hitting Y104.50 before it briefly stalled. Talk of selling from an Asian sovereign account mildly spooked some players but dollar-yen buyers prevailed pushing the pair to a Y104.69 high in the early afternoon. The BOJ starts its 2-day meeting today, with a decision due tomorrow. Euro-yen meanwhile dipped early to Y141.09 soon after opening at Y141.18 but caught a bid tone soon after the start of the Japanese stock market session. The cross went through last night’s Y141.35 high and was supported by dollar-yen’s gains to a Y141.84 high. Dollar-yen remained near the high and was last at Y104.69 as the market looked up toward earliermentioned buy-stops at Y104.65, while the cross traded at Y141.82. Euro-yen’s close above Y143.31 would confirm a break of the 21-day moving average at Y142.75 and see the overall focus shift back to the Y145.13-69 region.
