By Mariko Ishikawa and Monami Yui -
Oct 22, 2012 10:00 AM GMT+0800
The yen traded 0.2 percent from a
two-month low against the dollar after Japan’s exports fell the
most since the aftermath of last year’s earthquake, adding to
speculation the nation’s central bank will expand stimulus.
The Dollar Index, which IntercontinentalExchange Inc. uses to track the greenback against currencies of six U.S. trading partners, maintained a two-day advance after declines in stocks globally increased the allure of haven assets. Demand for the euro was limited before a report tomorrow that may show European consumer confidence remained at the lowest since May 2009.
“The market is acting with an assumption that there will be additional stimulus by the Bank of Japan (8301),” hurting the yen, said Junichi Ishikawa, an analyst at IG Markets Securities Ltd. in Tokyo. “The market is tilted toward risk-off, putting upward pressure on the dollar.”
The yen traded unchanged at 79.32 per dollar as of 10:49 a.m. in Tokyo from the close in New York last week. It touched 79.47 on Oct. 18, the weakest since Aug. 21. The euro fetched $1.3037 from $1.3024 on Oct. 19, when it fell 0.3 percent. The common currency added 0.1 percent to 103.41 yen.
The Dollar index was little changed at 79.552 from 79.621 on Oct. 19. It has gained 0.8 percent in the past two days.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) of stocks declined 0.7 percent following a 1.7 percent drop in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) of U.S. shares on Oct. 19.
Japan’s shipments slid 10.3 percent in September from a year earlier, leaving a trade deficit of 558.6 billion yen ($7 billion), the Finance Ministry said in Tokyo today. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of analysts was for a 9.9 percent export decline. Imports rose 4.1 percent.
The BOJ may lower its economic projections for the 2012 and 2013 fiscal years and issue its first set of forecasts for 2014 at a policy-board meeting Oct. 30, which would pave the way for further monetary stimulus. After the U.S. central bank announced open-ended easing last month, its Japanese counterpart responded by expanding its asset-purchase program by 10 trillion yen ($126 billion) on Sept. 19.
Economy Minister Seiji Maehara said Japan needs more monetary easing and policy efforts to encourage growth.
“There are fiscal-easing moves worldwide, but on a monetary basis Japan is falling short,” Maehara said yesterday on a Fuji Television program. While “easing is not a panacea,” without that and policy moves “Japan’s sovereign credit rating may face a downgrade,” he said.
In Europe, an index of consumer confidence was probably minus 25.9 in October, unchanged from the previous month and the lowest since May 2009, according to the median estimate of economists in a separate Bloomberg poll before tomorrow’s data.
The Australian dollar fell for a third day against the U.S. currency before a report this week that may show gains in consumer prices held near the smallest in 13 years.
The so-called trimmed mean gauge of core consumer prices in Australia probably rose 2.2 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30 from a year earlier, a Bloomberg survey showed before the statistics bureau publishes the report on Oct 24. That compares with a 2 percent increase in the previous quarter, the slowest pace since June 1999.
Australia’s dollar fell 0.1 percent to $1.0317 after dropping 0.5 percent in the previous two days.
To contact the reporters on this story: Mariko Ishikawa in Tokyo at mishikawa9@bloomberg.net; Monami Yui in Tokyo at myui1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rocky Swift at rswift5@bloomberg.net
The Dollar Index, which IntercontinentalExchange Inc. uses to track the greenback against currencies of six U.S. trading partners, maintained a two-day advance after declines in stocks globally increased the allure of haven assets. Demand for the euro was limited before a report tomorrow that may show European consumer confidence remained at the lowest since May 2009.
“The market is acting with an assumption that there will be additional stimulus by the Bank of Japan (8301),” hurting the yen, said Junichi Ishikawa, an analyst at IG Markets Securities Ltd. in Tokyo. “The market is tilted toward risk-off, putting upward pressure on the dollar.”
The yen traded unchanged at 79.32 per dollar as of 10:49 a.m. in Tokyo from the close in New York last week. It touched 79.47 on Oct. 18, the weakest since Aug. 21. The euro fetched $1.3037 from $1.3024 on Oct. 19, when it fell 0.3 percent. The common currency added 0.1 percent to 103.41 yen.
The Dollar index was little changed at 79.552 from 79.621 on Oct. 19. It has gained 0.8 percent in the past two days.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) of stocks declined 0.7 percent following a 1.7 percent drop in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) of U.S. shares on Oct. 19.
Japan’s shipments slid 10.3 percent in September from a year earlier, leaving a trade deficit of 558.6 billion yen ($7 billion), the Finance Ministry said in Tokyo today. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of analysts was for a 9.9 percent export decline. Imports rose 4.1 percent.
Stimulus Urged
“A widening trade deficit reminds people of a shrinking current account surplus and may stoke short-term yen selling,” IG’s Ishikawa said. “The economies in Europe and Japan look bleaker compared with the U.S., which is also a buying catalyst for the dollar.”The BOJ may lower its economic projections for the 2012 and 2013 fiscal years and issue its first set of forecasts for 2014 at a policy-board meeting Oct. 30, which would pave the way for further monetary stimulus. After the U.S. central bank announced open-ended easing last month, its Japanese counterpart responded by expanding its asset-purchase program by 10 trillion yen ($126 billion) on Sept. 19.
Economy Minister Seiji Maehara said Japan needs more monetary easing and policy efforts to encourage growth.
“There are fiscal-easing moves worldwide, but on a monetary basis Japan is falling short,” Maehara said yesterday on a Fuji Television program. While “easing is not a panacea,” without that and policy moves “Japan’s sovereign credit rating may face a downgrade,” he said.
Yen Longs
Traders cut bets the yen will gain versus the dollar, figures from the Washington-based Commodity Futures Trading Commission show. The difference in the number of wagers by hedge funds and other large speculators on a rise in the yen compared with those on a drop -- so-called net longs -- was 10,086 on Oct. 16, compared with net longs of 12,914 a week earlier.In Europe, an index of consumer confidence was probably minus 25.9 in October, unchanged from the previous month and the lowest since May 2009, according to the median estimate of economists in a separate Bloomberg poll before tomorrow’s data.
The Australian dollar fell for a third day against the U.S. currency before a report this week that may show gains in consumer prices held near the smallest in 13 years.
The so-called trimmed mean gauge of core consumer prices in Australia probably rose 2.2 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30 from a year earlier, a Bloomberg survey showed before the statistics bureau publishes the report on Oct 24. That compares with a 2 percent increase in the previous quarter, the slowest pace since June 1999.
Aussie Dollar
“The Aussie is soft and likely to remain soft heading into the inflation release,” said Emma Lawson, a Sydney-based foreign-exchange strategist at National Australia Bank Ltd. “The currency is looking at the broader global conditions this week and we’re clearly starting off on a more subdued note.”Australia’s dollar fell 0.1 percent to $1.0317 after dropping 0.5 percent in the previous two days.
To contact the reporters on this story: Mariko Ishikawa in Tokyo at mishikawa9@bloomberg.net; Monami Yui in Tokyo at myui1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rocky Swift at rswift5@bloomberg.net
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