Japanese Yen Gains Ground Following BoJ Intervention

(RTTNews) - The Japanese yen appreciated against its major counterparts in the European session on Thursday, after the Bank of Japan intervened in the foreign exchange market to stem the currency's slide amid the central bank's ultra-loose policy.

Shortly after the BoJ's decision to maintain ultra-low interest rates, the central bank intervened in the market for the first time since 1998.

The move was aimed to shore up the value of the yen due to the interest rate gap between the United States and Japan.

Earlier in the day, the BoJ decided to maintain a negative interest rate of -0.1 percent on current accounts that financial institutions maintain at the central bank.

The bank will continue to purchase a necessary amount of Japanese government bonds without setting an upper limit so that 10-year JGB yields will remain at around zero percent.

This was followed by a third straight 75 basis point rate hike from the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday, which sent the yen plunging a 24-year low against the U.S. dollar in the previous session.

The yen climbed to more than 2-week highs of 140.65 against the greenback and 139.25 against the euro, from an early 24-year low of 145.90 and a 2-day low of 143.70, respectively. The yen is likely to challenge resistance around 138.00 against the greenback and 136.00 against the euro.

The yen rallied to a 1-1/2-month high of 82.80 against the kiwi, multi-week highs of 104.83 against the loonie and 93.81 against the aussie, up from its previous 2-day lows of 85.06, 108.15 and 96.41, respectively. The currency may face resistance around 80.00 against the kiwi, 102.00 against the loonie and 92.00 against the aussie.

The yen advanced to a 1-1/2-month high of 159.59 against the pound and more than a 2-week high of 144.34 against the franc, following an early 2-day low of 164.43 and a multi-year low of 151.47, respectively. The next possible resistance for the yen is seen around 157.00 against the pound and 142.00 against the franc.

Looking ahead, Canada new housing price index for August, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended September 17 and leading index for August will be featured in the New York session.

At 10:00 am ET, Eurozone flash consumer sentiment index for September is due.