Yen struggles before BOJ decision; dollar steady ahead of jobs data
Updates with price levels as of 0145 GMT
By Brigid Riley
TOKYO, Oct 31 (Reuters) -The yen remained under pressure on Thursday as the Bank of Japan looked set to keep ultra-low interest rates steady, while the U.S. dollar paused ahead of jobs data later this week and the U.S. presidential election next week.
The Japanese currency has taken a beating this month as the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields have hovered around their highest since July.
The yen has fallen more than 6% in October and is on track for what would be its biggest monthly loss against the greenback since November 2016.
Japan's political shakeup has only added to the yen's woes, heightening uncertainty about the country's fiscal and monetary policy outlook.
The Bank of Japan is widely expected to stand pat on Thursday and signal a cautious approach, as political uncertainty and jittery markets cloud the outlook.
Still, analysts are divided over the prospect of additional hikes by year-end, putting focus on BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda's post-meeting briefing for clues on the pace and timing of further rate increases.
The yen JPY=EBS was down 0.05% at 153.49 versus the dollar, not far off a three-month low of 153.885 hit on Monday.
"Any strengthening of the yen at present would likely result from a general weakening of the U.S. dollar if interest rates begin to align," said Sean Teo, a sales trader at Saxo.
The recent decline in the yen may be making many traders cautious given that excessive weakening could grab the attention of Japanese authorities, he added.
Markets got more economic data from China ahead of the BOJ's decision, with the National Statistics Bureau's manufacturing PMI showing activity in October expanded for the first time in six months.
The official PMI rose to 50.1 in October from 49.8 in September, just above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction and beating a median forecast of 49.9 in a Reuters poll.
The offshore yuan CNH=D3 held steady, last trading at 7.1325.
JOBS REPORT, PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN FOCUS
U.S. nonfarm payrolls closes out the week on Friday in the run-up to the presidential election on Tuesday.
Some investors have been putting on trades betting Republican candidate Donald Trump will win, although he is still neck and neck with Vice President Kamala Harris in several polls.
The dollar index =USD, which measures the currency against six major rivals, rose 0.08% to 104.17, after softening the previous day. It hit its highest since July 30 at 104.63 on Tuesday.
"Data overnight reaffirmed the underlying strength of the U.S. economy, largely supporting what's already built into the price rather than providing a fresh catalyst for a renewed push higher," Westpac analysts wrote in a note.
U.S. private payroll growth surged in October, data showed on Wednesday, overcoming fears of temporary disruption from hurricanes and strikes.
Meanwhile, separate data showed the U.S. economy grew at an annualised rate of 2.8% in the third quarter, slightly lower than the 3% expected by economists.
The euro EUR=EBS edged down 0.07% to $1.08465 after rising as high as $1.0871 on Wednesday. Regional inflation data and euro zone GDP came in stronger than expected on Wednesday, leading traders to trim back bets on an outsized rate cut from the European Central Bank in December.
Sterling GBP=D3 stood at $1.2951, down 0.08% so far on the day.
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar AUD=D3 slid 0.06% to $0.65675 after domestic retail sales numbers for September missed estimates, inching up just 0.1%. Analysts had looked for a gain of 0.3% in September.
The New Zealand dollar NZD=D3 ticked up 0.13% to $0.598.
World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
Reporting by Brigid Riley; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Christopher Cushing
Asset collegati
Ultime news
Disclaimer: le entità di XM Group forniscono servizi di sola esecuzione e accesso al nostro servizio di trading online, che permette all'individuo di visualizzare e/o utilizzare i contenuti disponibili sul sito o attraverso di esso; non ha il proposito di modificare o espandere le proprie funzioni, né le modifica o espande. L'accesso e l'utilizzo sono sempre soggetti a: (i) Termini e condizioni; (ii) Avvertenza sui rischi e (iii) Disclaimer completo. Tali contenuti sono perciò forniti a scopo puramente informativo. Nello specifico, ti preghiamo di considerare che i contenuti del nostro servizio di trading online non rappresentano un sollecito né un'offerta ad operare sui mercati finanziari. Il trading su qualsiasi mercato finanziario comporta un notevole livello di rischio per il tuo capitale.
Tutto il materiale pubblicato sul nostro servizio di trading online è unicamente a scopo educativo e informativo, e non contiene (e non dovrebbe essere considerato come contenente) consigli e raccomandazioni di carattere finanziario, di trading o fiscale, né informazioni riguardanti i nostri prezzi di trading, offerte o solleciti riguardanti transazioni che possano coinvolgere strumenti finanziari, oppure promozioni finanziarie da te non richieste.
Tutti i contenuti di terze parti, oltre ai contenuti offerti da XM, siano essi opinioni, news, ricerca, analisi, prezzi, altre informazioni o link a siti di terzi presenti su questo sito, sono forniti "così com'è", e vanno considerati come commenti generali sui mercati; per questo motivo, non possono essere visti come consigli di investimento. Dato che tutti i contenuti sono intesi come ricerche di investimento, devi considerare e accettare che non sono stati preparati né creati seguendo i requisiti normativi pensati per promuovere l'indipendenza delle ricerche di investimento; per questo motivo, questi contenuti devono essere considerati come comunicazioni di marketing in base alle leggi e normative vigenti. Assicurati di avere letto e compreso pienamente la nostra Notifica sulla ricerca di investimento non indipendente e la nostra Informativa sul rischio riguardante le informazioni sopra citate; tali documenti sono consultabili qui.
