Opened in early Europe at Y79.76 and Y105.69, USD/JPY opened at Y79.85 in Asia and traded sideways with markets subdued due to Asian and European holidays which kept players sidelined. The pair briefly dipped to Y79.67 before recovering to Y79.80 on talk from Japanese MOF officials, with Vice Finance Minister Takehiko Nakao saying the government will take appropriate steps on the yen if needed. USD/JPY opened flat in Europe before heading lower to print Y79.64 on offshore sales, rate met demand in the dip from Japanese corporates and lifted to Y79.72. Sharp cable sales following weaker than expected UK mfg PMI data boosted to Y79.80, before extending gains to Y79.88 with demand from the crosses. EUR/JPY tracked early EUR/USD supply to Y105.54 before recovering to Y105.80 on dip/systems account demand. The cross extended gains through Y106.00, flushing stops on the move to Y106.03 as yen sentiment turned but was unable to maintain gains and dipped back under Y106.00 to Y105.85 ahead of the NY open.
EasyForexNews Research Team