By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — The yen weakened Thursday as risk appetite saw a broad improvement in the wake of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony, while the Australian dollar rallied on better-than-expected data on capital spending.
The dollar USDJPY +0.1687% climbed to 92.4 yen by late afternoon in Tokyo from ÂĄ92.18 in North America late in New York on Wednesday. The euro EURJPY +0.1879% was buying ÂĄ121.43 versus ÂĄ121.11.
The yen’s drop coincided with solid gains in Japanese equity markets during the session, and came as Bernanke affirmed his commitment to the U.S. monetary stimulus. Read more about Japanese stocks’ performance in Asia Markets.
Also aiding the yen’s weakness: The Japanese government on Thursday formally nominated Haruhiko Kuroda to be the Bank of Japan’s next governor, as was widely expected. The news kept alive hopes for monetary policies that could potentially weaken the yen further. Read full story on Japan’s nominations to the Bank of Japan.
The Australian dollar climbed, meanwhile, after data showed that local firms had lowered their capital-spending plans by less than expected in the last quarter of 2012. The currency AUDUSD +0.3893% was buying $1.0263, up from $1.0235 in the U.S. on Wednesday.
The data suggest that “mining investment is still set to rise further next financial year,” said Paul Bloxham, chief economist for Australia and New Zealand at HSBC, which expects that the Reserve Bank of Australia has reached the end of its interest-rate-reducing cycle.
The ICE dollar index DXY -0.08% , which measures the greenback against six major global currencies, was at 81.549 by late afternoon in Tokyo, compared with 81.552 in New York on Wednesday.
The WSJ dollar index XX:BUXX -0.04% , which captures the currency’s moves against a slightly wider basket of rival units, was at 72.51, also little changed from 72.52.
Among other major currency pairs, the euro EURUSD +0.0168% was fetching $1.3145 against $1.3136, while the British pound GBPUSD +0.1722% was trading at $1.5176 versus $1.5156.
Varahabhotla Phani Kumar is a reporter in MarketWatch's Hong Kong bureau. Follow him on Twitter @MktwKumar.
