The Japanese yen retreated from early highs against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday, after the Bank of Japan decided to introduce monetary easing with a negative interest rate in order to achieve 2 percent inflation at the earliest possible time.
The policy board of BoJ voted 5-4 to apply -0.1 percent interest rate on current accounts that financial institutions maintain at the bank. The board said it will cut the rate further into negative territory if judged as necessary.
The BoJ also decided to hold its target of raising the monetary base at an annual pace of about JPY 80 trillion.
The yen fell to a 1-month low of 132.27 against the euro, from an early high of 129.52.
Against the U.S. and the New Zealand dollars, the yen dropped to more than a 7-week low of 121.39 and a 3-week low of 78.60 from early highs of 118.48 and 76.81, respectively.
The yen slipped to more than 3-week lows of 174.06 against the pound and 119.24 against the Swiss franc, from early highs of 170.09 and 116.74, respectively.
Against the Australian and the Canadian dollars, the yen slid to more than 3-week lows of 86.18 and 86.43 from early highs of 84.04 and 84.37, respectively.
If the yen extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 133.00 against the euro, 122.00 against the greenback, 81.00 against the kiwi, 177.00 against the pound, 122.00 against the franc, 88.00 against the aussie and 88.00 against the loonie.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com