The Japanese yen strengthened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday after the Bank of Japan kept its massive stimulus unchanged, as expected by economists.
In a statement, the BoJ announced that the policy board headed by Governor Haruhiko Kuroda decided by an 8-1 majority vote to maintain the size of quantitative and qualitative easing.
Accordingly, the bank will continue to increase the monetary base at an annual pace of about JPY 80 trillion.
The BOJ also reiterated that the central bank will continue its accommodative policy to achieve the price stability target of 2 percent.
Traders now await Kuroda’s comments at a press conference due later in the day.
Thursday, the yen fell 0.33 percent against the Swiss franc, 0.37 percent against the euro and 0.74 percent against the Pound.
In the Asian trading today, the yen rose to a 2-day high of 120.78 against the U.S. dollar, from yesterday’s closing value of 121.02. The yen may test resistance near the 118.50 region.
Moving away from early lows of 134.66 against the euro and 129.25 against the Swiss franc, the yen advanced to 134.48 and 129.07, respectively. If the yen extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 132.00 against the euro and 125.00 against the franc.
Against the pound, the yen edged up to 189.24 from yesterday’s closing value of 189.47. On the upside, 185.00 is seen as the next resistance level for the yen.
Looking ahead, final German GDP data for the first quarter is due to be released at 2:00 am ET.
In the European session, German IFO business climate index for May and U.K. public sector finance data for April.
At 5:45 am ET, Bank of England Deputy Governor Nemat Shafik is expected to speak at the Association of Corporate Treasures conference in Manchester.
In the New York session, inflation reports from U.S. and Canada for April and Canada retail sales data for March are slated for release.
At 9:30 am ET, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will participate in a panel discussion at the ECB Forum on Central Banking titled “Inflation and Unemployment in Europe,” in Portugal.
At 1:00 pm ET, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will speak about the U.S. economic outlook at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce Economic Outlook in Rhode Island.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com