The yen that weakened in early Thursday Asian deals recouped its losses after the release of the Bank of Japan’s closely watched Tankan survey report showed that Japanese business sentiment improved for the fourth straight quarter, led by a strong revival in exports to Asia.
The yen thus recovered from new multi-month lows against the US and Canadian dollars and new multi-week lows against the euro, pound, kiwi and the aussie.
The headline figure for large manufacturers’ confidence was -14 in the March quarter – exactly in line with analyst forecasts and up from -25 in the December quarter. At the same time, the indicator for medium-sized manufacturers improved to -19 from -28, while that for small manufacturers rose to -30 from -41.
Sentiment among large non-manufacturers also improved to -14 in March from -21 in December. Analysts had forecast a score of -18.
The yen that slipped to a new multi-month low of 93.66 against the US dollar at 7:45 pm ET Wednesday gained thereafter. As of now, the yen is worth 93.41 per dollar, compared to yesterday’s New York session close of 93.50.
The yen advanced against the Swiss franc after hitting a low of 89.01 by about 7:45 pm ET Wednesday. The franc-yen pair that closed yesterday’s trading at 88.76 is presently worth 88.65.
The yen plunged to new multi-week lows of 126.65 against the euro at 7:45 pm ET and 142.42 against the pound at 8:15 pm ET. Thereafter, the yen recovered and it is currently worth 126.10 against the euro and 141.80 against the pound. The euro-yen and the pound-yen pairs were worth 126.35 and 141.99, respectively at yesterday’s close.
The yen that slumped to a new multi-week low of 66.54 against the New Zealand dollar at 5:45 pm ET Wednesday advanced thereafter. At present, the kiwi-yen pair is worth 65.85, compared to yesterday’s New York session close of 66.47.
The kiwi plunged after the International Monetary Fund said that the New Zealand dollar was over valued by 10-25 percent.
“While there is uncertainty, our estimates suggest the currency is presently overvalued by 10-25 percent,” the IMF said in a statement at the end of consultations with authorities.
At 7:45 pm ET, the yen fell to a new multi-week low of 89.89 against the Aussie and a new multi-month low of 92.39 against the Canadian dollar. The yen then recouped its losses and is now trading at 85.55 against the aussie and 92.20 against the loonie, compared to previous session’s close of 85.77 and 92.14, respectively.
Australia’s trade balance, TD securities inflation gauge and AiG Performance of Manufacturing Index reports released earlier in the day likely influenced the Aussie.
Looking ahead, German retail sales for February and final manufacturing PMI reports for March from major European economies are expected in the upcoming European session.
The U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended March 27, ISM manufacturing data for March and construction spending for February are due out in the North American session.