Forex – Yen Gains In Early Asia Ahead Of Current Account Data
Investing.com – The yen gained slightly in Asia on Tuesday with current account figures ahead, while the Aussie inched higher as well ahead of closely-watched business surveys.
USD/JPY changed hands at 112.65, down 0.03%, while AUD/USD traded at 0.7753, up 0.01%.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was last quoted down 0.07% to 93.55.
Japan reports the adjusted current account with a surplus of ¥1.98 trillion sen. Later, the NAB business confidence and NAB business survey for September are due for Australia.
Overnight, the dollar held steady near 10-week highs against other major counterparts in quiet trade on Monday, as hopes for a December rate hike by the Federal Reserve continued to lend support to the greenback.
The dollar remained supported as the wage data from Friday’s U.S. jobs report was seen as potentially boosting inflation.
The U.S. economy lost 33,000 jobs in September, the Labor Department reported, ending seven straight years of job growth. But the decline was driven by slower hiring due to the effects of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.2%, the lowest since 2001 and average hourly earnings rose 2.9% from a year earlier.
The uptick in wage inflation bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates in December.
Safe-haven demand mildly strengthed following reports North Korea is preparing to test a long-range missile that it is believed could reach the west cost of the U.S.
GBP/USD gained, pulling away from Friday’s four-week low of 1.3027 ahead of a fifth round of Brexit talks between the UK and the EU in Brussels this week.
The talks will be taking place amid growing concerns over a possible leadership battle in the UK following threats by a former Conservative Party chairman claiming the support of 30 lawmakers to topple British Prime Minister Theresa May.
The Turkish lira remained lower, with USD/TRY up 3.27% at 3.7334 after the U.S. and Turkey mutually suspended visa services on Sunday.
The move was made following last week’s arrest of a U.S. embassy employee in Istanbul for alleged involvement in the July 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Washington has dismissed the allegations as baseless.