As reported on March 17, 2009 at 12:20 pm (JST) in Tokyo, the Euro was close to the recent 1-month high against the U.S. Dollar and briefly surged to an 11-week high against the Japanese Yen, buoyed by better investor confidence after unexpected upbeat German and U.S. data. Analysts believe that investors are more confident that economic conditions are stabilizing as evidenced by a 22.2% rise in American housing starts reported for February, and a general improvement of investor sentiment in German.
Investors are waiting for the outcome of two important meetings later today, namely, the Federal Open Market Committee and that of the Bank of Japan and as a result, currencies traded within tight ranges. According to analysts, the Bank of Japan may increase its purchasing of government bonds in order to channel more funds to the financial market, after selling up to one trillion yen, equivalent to more than $10 billion, in subordinated funding to Japanese banks yesterday to support their depleted capital.
The U.S. Dollar eased by 0.1% against the Japanese Yen and traded at 98.47 yen, still well below this month's 4-month peak of 99.69 Yen. In early trading in Asia, the Euro reached its highest level since last December and traded at 128.83 Yen before retreating to 128.43 Yen.