The pair opened at Y117.46 this morning and encountered mild pressure in early dealings, falling from around Y117.50 to Y117.38, the selling related to light euro-yen supply, which pushed the cross down to Y135.75 after it opened at Y135.91. Japanese stocks opened slightly higher and talk of demand from semi-official names kept dollar-yen supported for a while and dollar-yen then extended its high to Y117.67 on demand ahead of the Tokyo fix. Soon after the fix, dollar-yen began to ease, trading Y117.35 and then slipping further to Y117.14. A sharply lower start to Chinese stocks put yen crosses under pressure again, with euro-yen falling to Y135.32 just a few minutes after they opened. Dollar-yen tracked the move lower and sank to a Y116.92 low. It took back some ground as importer demand from Y116.90/80 provided support but retreated again back toward the session lows in the late morning as euro-yen struck a fresh session low of Y135.14. Dollar-yen last traded at Y117.05 while euro-yen was a Y135.30. US markets are closed today to mark Martin Luther King Day.
