RTRS: Yen recovers, dollar edges up; German Ifo awaited
The yen rose on Wednesday, recovering after hitting a five month low against the euro the previous day as Japanese investors repatriated funds before the fiscal year-end.
The dollar also edged up against the euro, but gains were limited due to continuing worries about the U.S. Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program, which includes buying U.S. government debt, as well as waning optimism about a U.S. plan to mop up banks' toxic assets.
Many investors were also sidelined before German Ifo data at 0900 GMT (5 a.m. EDT), as well as U.S. housing and durable goods data later in the day.
"There aren't too many people willing to sell euro/dollar at these levels," Frankfurt-based Commerzbank currency strategist Ulrich Leuchtmann said. "There are concerns about the actions of the Fed, which are seen as measures to fight deflation and could lead to a decrease in the foreign value of the dollar as well as its domestic value."
He noted that the yen was gaining after falling sharply on Tuesday. Although there were no fundamental reasons to buy the Japanese currency, there were concerns that its sharp falls seen in February had been overdone, he added.
"Levels in dollar/yen just below 100 yen are providing relatively strong resistance and are proving hard to break through, so the yen has been going back and forth at the moment," he said.
Traders also noted that Japanese investors were repatriating funds from overseas before the end of the financial year on March 31.
At 0836 GMT (4:36 a.m. EDT), the euro was down 0.6 percent against the yen to 130.83 yen, while the dollar fell 0.3 percent to 97.47 yen. The euro dipped 0.2 percent against the dollar to $1.3425, while the dollar index gained 0.2 percent to 84.327 .DXY.
The dollar was continuing Tuesday's recovery, which was due to profit-taking after its slide last week when it suffered its biggest weekly fall since 1985 against a basket of major currencies.
Analysts said the German Ifo business climate survey, plus U.S. data in the afternoon should provide some direction for currencies.
"After recent volatility, there's a degree of consolidation underway amongst the major currency pairs with the likes of EUR/USD settling back below $1.3500," CMC Markets analyst James Hughes said in a note to clients.
"However, there's some high profile economic data due for release in the coming hours with the German Ifo survey poised to provide some meaningful direction for the common currency whilst the U.S. durable goods orders will later in the session offer momentum for the greenback," he said.
In other news on Wednesday, Eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker said Europe is not prepared to boost spending beyond those stimulus measures it has already announced, even if pressured to do so by the U.S.