Forex Pros – The U.S. dollar erased losses against the yen on Wednesday, retreating from a two-week after the yen’s gains prompted heavy selling by Japanese exporters to lock in profits.
USD/JPY hit 82.82 during European morning trade, gaining 0.06% after clawing back up from 82.51, the pair’s lowest since February 10.
The pair was likely to find support at 82.32, the low of February 10 and resistance at 83.52, Tuesday’s high.
Earlier in the day, government data showed that Japan’s trade surplus narrowed unexpectedly in January, dropping to JPY0.19 trillion, compared to a revised surplus of JPY0.58 trillion in December.
Analysts had expected the country’s trade surplus to widen to JPY0.70 trillion in January.
While exports to Asia grew the least since October 2009, trade figures for the first two months of the year can be distorted by the timing of a Lunar New Year holiday celebrated in China and in other parts of Asia.
Meanwhile, Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Hirohide Yamaguchi said earlier Wednesday that while he’s optimistic about the nation’s economy in the short term, he’s cautious in the long run because of the difficulty of overcoming deflation.
The yen was also down against the euro, with EUR/JPY rising 0.66% to hit 113.73.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish industry data on existing home sales.
ForexPros.com
