The pair saw a brief spike higher at the open as dollar-yen and yen crosses gapped lower following on from Friday’s sharp losses, which saw dollar-yen slide to a Y102.09 low while euro-yen fell to Y139.76. Both pairs extended their lows to Y101.77, the lowest for dollar-yen since Dec. 6, and Y139.20 at the start of today’s session but have since rebounded. Dollar-yen climbed back above Y102.00 in early trade, in part due to fixing demand at the start of the session and in part also due to short-covering activities. Itextended gains after the release of Japan’s trade data and the BOJ’s minutes of its Dec 19/20 policy meeting, reaching Y102.41, despite Japanese stocks opening in negative territory. Dollar-yen continued higher as euro-yen also extended its highs from Y140.06 to Y140.31, with dollar-yen trading Y102.55, despite the Nikkei 225 down over 2% at the morning close. The rebound may yet run out of steam later in the session, with dollar-yen facing rumored major selling interest from Y103.00 and above. The pair was last at Y102.42 with euro-yen at Y140.14. Dollar-yen’s close back above Y102.85 is needed relieve the immediate bearish focus while a close above Y103.86 is needed to shift focus higher again.
