Yen Falls Amid BoJ Rate Hike Uncertainty
(RTTNews) - The Japanese yen weakened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Monday, as traders remain uncertain about timing of the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) next interest rate hike.
BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said that the "timing of adjusting monetary support depends on economic, price and financial developments."
"Must be vigilant to various risks in deciding timing for adjusting degree of monetary support," BoJ Ueda said.
In economic news, data from Jibun Bank showed that the services sector in Japan continued to expand in December, and at a faster rate, with the services PMI score of 50.9. That's up from 50.5 in November.
In the Asian trading today, the yen fell to 4-day lows of 162.81 against the euro and 196.36 against the pound, from Friday's closing quotes of 162.11 and 195.33, respectively. If the yen extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 166.00 against the euro and 200.00 against the pound.
Against the U.S. dollar and the Swiss franc, the yen slid to 4-day lows of 157.83 and 173.56 from last week's closing quotes of 157.27 and 173.09, respectively. The yen may test support around 159.00 against the greenback and 176.00 against the franc.
Looking ahead, Germany CPI reports for December, Canada and U.S. S&P Global PMI reports for December and U.S. factory orders for November, are slated for released in the New York session.