The pair opened at Y115.21 this morning and then saw an early move higher, a few minutes before the start of the Japanese stock market. The pair got up to Y115.40 but stalled before it could attempt any move toward yesterday’s Y115.52 Asian high, which was also its highest since Nov. 1, 2007. The pair followed up with a sharp move lower after Japanese stocks opened only slightly higher and after Japanese officials, including the economy minister, joined recent comments voicing concern about the yen’s sharp moves. Dollar-yen traded down to a Y115.07 low where it again recovered to Y115.25. The choppy moves continued after that with dollar-yen twice bouncing off that Y115.07 low. Those earlier moves suggested some dip-buying demand interest coming in off the lows today, with larger bids from Japanese importers reported down toward Y114.00. Dollar-yen action eventually stabilized with the pair then holding about unchanged from opening levels as the market braced for tonight’s US jobs data release. It was last traded at Y115.25. Looking ahead, the overall focus remains on the Y119.82 monthly high from Aug 8 2007 with bulls taking comfort in the move above the psychological Y115.00 level.
