RTTN:Yen And Dollar Strengthen On Weak Equities, China Data
(RTTNews) - The Japanese yen and the U.S. dollar climbed against their major counterparts in Asian deals on Friday amid weak Asian equities and disappointing Chinese retail sales and industrial production data for April.
The US dollar, Japanese yen and Swiss franc are considered as safe haven currencies as these nations have lower lending rates. These currencies tend to gain in times of financial turmoil and vice-versa.
Asian markets retreated across the board after financial giant JPMorgan Chase & Co said it suffered a $2 billion trading loss from a "poorly executed" and "poorly monitored" hedging strategy.
Adding to negative sentiment, China's industrial output growth slowed unexpectedly in April and retail sales growth slowed more than expected.
The latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that total production of the Chinese industrial sector grew 9.3 percent from a year earlier in April. Economists had expected the rate of growth to accelerate to 12.2 percent from 11.9 percent from March.
On a monthly basis, production rose 0.35 percent.
Retail sales increased 14.1 percent year-on-year in April, slower than 15.2 percent increase in March. Economists had forecast the rate of growth to edge down to 15.1 percent.
Against the U.S. currency, the yen advanced to 79.79 from Thursday's close of 79.94. On the upside, the yen may target the 79.00 level.
The yen rose to 103.09 against the euro and 128.63 against the pound with 102.00 and 127.00 seen as the next upside target levels, respectively. At yesterday's close, the yen was worth 103.41 against the euro and 129.07 against the pound.
British consumer sentiment worsened in April after improving to a nine-month high in March, as households turned increasingly pessimistic about their current and future economic conditions.
The Nationwide Building Society said today that its consumer confidence index fell to 44 from March's 53. The index reading was well below its long-run average.
Against the Australian and Canadian dollars, the yen that closed Thursday's deals at 80.60 and 79.79 ticked up to 80.17 and 79.47, respectively. On the upside, the yen may target 79.5 against the aussie and 79.00 against the loonie.
The yen edged up to 85.79 against the franc and 62.53 against the NZ dollar from yesterday's close of 86.11 and 62.79, respectively. If the yen rises further, it may target 85.00 against the franc and 62.00 against the kiwi.
Food prices in New Zealand declined for a second consecutive month in April, data from Statistics New Zealand showed.
(RTTNews) - The food price index fell 0.1 percent month-on-month in April following a 1 percent drop in the preceding month.
Against the pound, the greenback spiked up to 1.6101, compared to yesterday's close of 1.6147. On the upside, the greenback may target 1.605 level.
The greenback approached a 2-day high of 1.0054 against the Canadian dollar and a new multi-month high of 1.0021 against the aussie with 1.01 and 0.99, respectively seen as the next upside target levels. The greenback-loonie pair was worth 1.0023 and the aussie-greenback pair was at 1.0083 at Thursday's close.
The U.S. currency hit a 2-day high of 0.7819 against the NZ dollar and the next upside target level for the greenback is seen at 0.775. At Thursday's close, the pair was worth 0.7854.
Against the franc and the euro, the greenback spiked up to near a 2-month high of 0.9309 and a new 3-1/2-month high of 1.2907 with 0.94 and 1.285 seen as the next upside target levels, respectively. At yesterday's close, the pound-greenback pair was worth 0.9288 and the euro-greenback pair traded at 1.2937.
The U.K. PPI for April and the Eurozone economic forecast report for 2012-2013 are due in the European session.
Canada jobs data and U.S. PPI for April, Reuters and the University of Michigan's preliminary report on consumer sentiment index for May are likely to influence trading in the New York morning session.
