With the expectation that Japanese exporters will drive demand higher before the fiscal year end on March 31st, the Japanese Yen held steady in Asian Forex trading today. Market players confirm that exporters from Japan have heavily sold the U.S. Dollar and the single currency Euro this week. As reported at 2:38 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, versus the U.S. Dollar the Japanese Yen steadied near 90.00 Yen, after gaining .3% yesterday. Versus the Euro, the Yen traded at 122.40 Yen; it gained almost .6% yesterday. Gains in the Japanese currency were tempered by continuing speculation that the Japanese central bank may take further measures to ease the current monetary policy in an effort to halt deflation.
The release of a stronger than expected economic report from China helped to support the Australian Dollar, which climbed to a new 7-week peak versus the U.S. Dollar. China is Australia’s largest trading partner, and the news spurred investors to buy the Aussie. Versus the U.S. Dollar, the Aussie rose to $0.9164, the highest trade since late January and a rise of .1%, before retreating to $0.9157. The New Zealand Dollar also rose versus the U.S. Dollar, trading at $0.7064, a rise of .5%; earlier in the trading session, it had struck $0.7069, a new 3-week high.