The U.S. Dollar retreated against the Japanese Yen during the Asian session but kept within striking distance of the recent 4½ year peak; the U.S. Dollar Index which is a measure of the greenback’s strength relative to a weighted basket of its peers held steady and near to the session high of 83.687 .DXY. Yields on U.S. Treasury instruments have been rising and were last near 2%, giving additional support to the U.S. Dollar’s rally, especially as it relates to the Japanese Yen as investors consider more easing from the Japanese central bank.
As reported at 10:52 a.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the USD/JPY pair was trading 0.1% lower at 102.24 Yen, close to Tuesday’s high of 102.42. Forex strategists say that the next resistance for the pair beyond the 103 Yen target will be at 103.25 Yen. The EUR/USD pair traded at $1.2935, edging off a recently struck 5-week peak; any gains for the Euro are likely to be limited, however, as investors are wary that the ECB may soon act on its recent threat of negative deposit rates. The greenback is also being supported from more economic data which hints at a steady improvement in the U.S. recovery.