USD/JPY opened in Asia at Y119.00 unchanged from Friday’s close in New York and then marked a narrow Y119.00 to Y119.26 range in early dealings this morning. The release of Bank of Japan minutes were the early focus but the market impact was limited with dollar-yen holding around Y119.06 through the release. It edged up to Y119.06 a few minutes after Japanese stock markets opened with decent gains but the move ran aground again soon after. Dollar-yen then retraced back toward Y119.00 and then stayed under pressure near there. In yen crosses, euro-yen opened at Y135.49 this morning and got up to an early pre-Asian high of Y135.99 before pulling back. It retraced its move back and then fell to a low of Y135.32 before a minor bounce followed. The cross last traded at Y135.57 while dollar-yen was at Y119.07. Traders report Japanese exporter supply between Y119.50 to Y119.60, importer demand is cited layered from Y118.60 to Y118.50. Resistance is seen at Y119.42 (Double top 17/18 Feb), above there Y119.60 marks the 61.8% fibo retracement of the Y120.48 to Y118.18 fall.
