The U.S Dollar continues to fall against the Yen, after it was announced that last month’s exports from Japan grew faster than that of the previous month, even though the U.S. economy continues to falter. According to the report, although the U.S. economy is in a slump, exports from Japan grew 8.75% in February compared to 7.6% in January. Exports from Japan to Asia grew by 13.9%, while exports to Europe increased by 7.2%. However, exports to the U.S. declined by 6%, representing the sixth straight month of decline. Consequently, on Wednesday, March 26, 2008, at 05:00 GMT, at the Hong Kong market, the Euro traded at 99.93 Yen, compared to 100.52 Yen traded late in New York. The Euro rose to $1.5629 compared to 1.566 quoted in Sydney.
It’s been speculated that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates further in the next quarter to 1.25% and another cut of 25 basis points in the third quarter of this year. Even though the Federal Reserve continues to ease its interest rates to mitigate the impact of the liquidity crisis, Bank of Japan as well as European Central Bank authorities have decided to hold their interest rates steady.