Yen Falls Amid Risk-on Mood

(RTTNews) - The Japanese yen weakened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Wednesday, as investors reacted positively to the actions taken by China to counter the effects of deflation and a slew of upbeat GDP and PMI data from the region. Markets are also cautious following the imposition of tariffs by U.S. in Canada, Mexico and China, and the retaliatory measures by China and Canada.

Offering a temporary reprieve from tariff worries, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hinted that some relief could be around the corner for Canada and Mexico.

A potential deal is expected to involve reducing, at least partially, the new 25 percent tariffs on imports from both countries.

Elsewhere, Beijing announced a 2025 economic growth target of around 5 percent and pledged additional fiscal support to counter the effects of deflation, a property crash and rising U.S. tariffs.

The special initiatives to boost consumption include proposals to cut the reserve ratios and interest rates, issue special treasury bonds to support state-owned lenders in replenishing capital and use monetary policy instruments to bolster property and stock markets.

There is also some cheer on the data front as a private survey showed China's services sector grew more than expected in February, driven by a faster rebound in demand.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) Deputy Governor Shinichi said that the Japanese central bank will keep hiking interest rates if its economic forecasts are met. Japan has only just started to move away from its long-standing ultra-loose monetary policy, Uchida added.

Uchida said, "I don't have a preset idea in mind on the pace of future rate hikes."

In the Asian trading today, the yen fell to a 2-week low of 192.08 against the pound and a 2-day low of 150.18 against the U.S. dollar, from yesterday's closing quotes of 191.72 and 149.84, respectively. If the yen extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 195.00 against the pound and 155.00 against the greenback.

Against the euro and the Swiss franc, the yen slipped to more than 2-week lows of 159.53 and 168.60 from Tuesday's closing quotes of 157.17 and 168.36, respectively. The yen is likely to find support 164.00 against the euro and 172.00 against the franc.

Against the Australia and the Canadian dollars, the yen dropped to 2-day lows of 94.05 and 104.27 from yesterday's closing quotes of 93.92 and 104.07, respectively. On the downside, 97.00 against the aussie and 108.00 against the loonie are seen as the next support levels for the yen.

The yen fell to a 6-day low of 85.01 against the NZ dollar, from yesterday's closing value of 84.81. The next possible downside target for the yen are seen around the 87.00 region.

Looking ahead, PMI reports for February from various European economies and U.K., Eurozone PPI for January are slated for release in the European session.

In the New York session, U.S. MBA mortgage approvals data, U.S. and Canada PMI data for February, U.S. factory orders for January and U.S. EIA crude oil data are slated for release.