CANBERA (Alliance News) - The Japanese yen continued its decline against its major rivals in European deals on Tuesday, as traders await the outcome of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy meeting, due tomorrow. Improvement in oil prices also weighed on the yen.
The bank is expected to hold stimulus programme at its 17-18 February policy meeting, after the economy pulled out of a recession in the fourth quarter. The central bank is targeting monetary base expansion at an annual pace of 80 trillion yen.
The Bank of Japan Governor Kuroda will hold press conference subsequent to the decision, which offer more clues about the likelihood of additional unconventional policy in order to shore up growth and inflation in the economy.
Meanwhile, European markets fell after Eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels failed to solve impasse between Greece and its eurozone creditors, as Athens rejected draft statement for bailout extension.
The eurogroup gave Greece an ultimatum that it should agree to an extension of the current EUR240 billion bailout by the end of the week, or else it will be cut off from funding that the country needs to avoid a default.
The yen fell to a 4-day low of 118.90 against the greenback, after having advanced to an 11-day high of 118.23 at 7:15 pm ET. The next possible support for the yen is seen around the 120.00 zone.
The yen dropped to 135.46 against the euro, 182.98 against the pound and 127.33 against the franc, off early 8-day high of 133.92, 5-day high of 181.57 and near a 2-week high of 126.58, respectively. The yen is likely to find support around 136.00 against the euro, 184.00 against the pound and 128.5 against the franc.
The yen slipped to 95.99 against the loonie, its lowest since January 23, reversing from its previous high of 94.81. If the yen extends slide, it may locate support around the 97.8 mark.
The yen weakened to a 5-day low of 92.84 against the aussie and near a 4-week low of 89.55 against the NZ dollar, from previous 5-day high of 91.58 and a session's high of 88.53, respectively. On the downside, the yen may find support around 94.00 against the aussie and 90.00 against the kiwi.
Looking ahead, US NAHB housing market index and New York Fed's empire manufacturing survey - both for February, as well as Canada existing home sales for January are due in the New York session.
