The pair opened at Y117.82 after trading a NY range of Y117.57 Y118.98. The euro-yen started at Y146.53 after trading a NY range of Y146.28 to Y147.90. Dollar-yen was lifted to session high of Y118.01 before fluctuating between Y117.64 to Y117.95 range in early trade. Weak Nikkei pressured the spot lower to trigger stops at Y117.50 during late morning, pushing the rate to hit fresh Asia low of Y117.13 in afternoon trade before recovery to Y117.26 last. The euro-yen tracked dollar-yen, tapering lower to hit an Asia low of Y145.99 from an early high of Y146.79 before bouncing to Y146.08 last. Sellers reported at Y118.00 with option expiry on Tuesday ($1.9bn) capped the pair and strong demand, stops and option expiry on Tuesday reported at Y117.00 ($2.49bn). Dollar-yen extends correction from recent highs Y121.85 (Dec8) to hit fresh Asian low of Y117.13, breaching support at Y117.44 (low Dec11) easing bullish pressure. The euro-yen extends correction to breach yesterday low of Y146.27 but met demand at Y146.00. Liquidity remains thin with little reaction from RBA meeting and China flash manufacturing PMI earlier, traders shift focus to European PMIs, Zew survey, US housing starts, PMI and building permits later.
