By Hiroyuki Kachi
The dollar edged down against the yen in Asia on Wednesday after
the release of Australian price data, but trading remained largely
directionless ahead of the visit of U.S. President Barack Obama to
Japan.
The yen strengthened slightly mid-morning following the release
of the lower-than-expected Australian inflation figures, which
drove the Australian dollar down against other currencies.
But traders say the greenback is likely to stay rangebound until
next week's meeting of the Federal Reserve and the release of U.S.
economic data, provided talks between Mr. Obama and Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe produce no surprises.
As of 0450 GMT, the greenback was at Y102.55 from Y102.61 in
late Monday trading in New York, after reaching a high of
Y102.69.
The Australian dollar fell as low as $0.9296 from $0.9374
against the U.S. dollar, and as low as Y95.35 from Y96.21 against
the yen, following the release of the data. The figures showed
consumer prices rising by 2.9% from a year earlier, compared with a
3.2% on-year rise forecast by economists, a result that weakened
expectations for monetary tightening.
"The selling of the Australian dollar against the yen invited
the yen buying," against the U.S. dollar, said Kengo Suzuki, chief
forex strategist at Mizuho Securities.
Investors will monitor Mr. Obama's visit to Japan between
Wednesday and Friday for any positive surprises, especially on the
issue of a U.S.-led Asia-Pacific trade deal known as the
Trans-Pacific Partnership.
But amid few expectations of any market-moving developments
coming from the visit, investors are likely to remain on the
sidelines until the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee meeting next
week and the release of U.S. GDP data.
"It's hard to expect speculative flows showing up later this
week," ahead of these big events, Mr. Suzuki said. Until then, the
dollar will likely be stuck in what he described as "comfortable"
range around Y102.50.
The euro was at $1.3817 from $1.3805 and at Y141.70 from
Y141.65.
The WSJ Dollar Index, a measure of the dollar against a basket
of major currencies, was up 0.03% at 73.08.
Interbank Foreign Exchange Rates At 00:50 EST / 0450 GMT
Latest Previous %Chg Daily Daily %Chg
2150 GMT High Low 12/31
USD/JPY Japan 102.53-56 102.60-63 -0.07 102.69 102.50 -2.62
EUR/USD Euro 1.3815-18 1.3804-08 +0.08 1.3819 1.3802 +0.52
GBP/USD U.K. 1.6829-32 1.6822-26 +0.04 1.6835 1.6822 +1.65
USD/CHF Switzerland 0.8833-38 0.8848-52 -0.16 0.8851 0.8836 -1.06
USD/CAD Canada 1.1033-36 1.1024-29 +0.07 1.1037 1.1022 +3.88
AUD/USD Australia 0.9280-82 0.9364-68 -0.91 0.9377 0.9278 +4.11
NZD/USD New Zealand 0.8592-96 0.8598-604 -0.08 0.8619 0.8594 +4.54
Euro Rate
EUR/JPY Japan 141.65-70 141.65-69 +0.00 141.78 141.60 -2.12
Source: ICAP PLC
Write to Hiroyuki Kachi at hiroyuki.kachi@wsj.com