By Hannah Lang and Alun John
WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) – Currency markets were choppy on Tuesday as the dollar hit a 10-week high against peers and a six-month top versus the yen before retreating after Japanese officials gave their currency a nudge.
Japan will closely watch currency market moves and respond “appropriately” as needed, the country’s top currency diplomat said on Tuesday after financial authorities met in response to a weakening in the yen to its softest in six months versus the dollar.
The yen strengthened on news of the meeting, and held onto those gains, with the currency last up 0.46% versus the dollar at 139.80 having earlier risen to 140.93, its highest since November 2022.
Derek Halpenny, MUFG’s head of research, global markets EMEA said the Japanese currency was coming into focus ahead of a possible election, as Japan is a major energy importer, and subsidies for petrol are nearing their end.
“If [Prime Minster] Kishida is looking at a snap election, he wants to be seen to be addressing one source of energy inflation which would be currency depreciation,” Halpenny said.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Sunday signed off on an agreement to temporarily suspend the U.S. debt ceiling and cap some federal spending in order to prevent a debt default.
That helped the dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six major peers, hit 104.53 in European trading, its highest in 10 weeks. But it then retreated, and was last down 0.201% at 104.080.
“It’s been a one-way trade in the dollar all month long, and given the uncertainty around the [U.S. Federal Reserve] and the economic outlook later in the year, some market participants are taking a bit off the table as the month turns,” said Adam Button, chief currency analyst at ForexLive.
The debt ceiling deal is set to face its first test in Congress later on Tuesday.
“It seems to be win-win on almost any scenario for the dollar right now,” said Jane Foley head of FX strategy at Rabobank.
She said attention was turning to whether the Fed will hike interest rates again, if not in June then possibly in July.
Looking ahead, the market will be closely watching a readout of nonfarm payroll data due on Friday, which could provide key insight into the strength of the U.S. labor market.
“The jobs run has been nothing short of spectacular and we’re way overdue for disappointing jobs,” said Button.
The euro was last up 0.17% at $1.0723,, having earlier hit a two-month low, while the pound was last trading at $1.24095, up 0.41% on the day..
In crytocurrencies, bitcoin last rose 0.12% to $27,783.00 while ethereum was up 0.51% at $1,904.06.
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Currency bid prices at 10:28AM (1428 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Dollar index 104.0800 104.3100 -0.21% 0.570% +104.5300 +103.8700
Euro/Dollar $1.0726 $1.0706 +0.18% +0.09% +$1.0747 +$1.0673
Dollar/Yen 139.8000 140.4300 -0.44% +6.64% +140.9300 +139.5850
Euro/Yen 149.95 150.37 -0.28% +6.87% +150.6200 +149.7600
Dollar/Swiss 0.9035 0.9045 -0.08% -2.27% +0.9084 +0.9015
Sterling/Dollar $1.2410 $1.2359 +0.41% +2.61% +$1.2446 +$1.2328
Dollar/Canadian 1.3611 1.3593 +0.13% +0.46% +1.3612 +1.3569
Aussie/Dollar $0.6521 $0.6539 -0.28% -4.34% +$0.6559 +$0.6503
Euro/Swiss 0.9689 0.9682 +0.07% -2.08% +0.9699 +0.9673
Euro/Sterling 0.8642 0.8667 -0.29% -2.30% +0.8673 +0.8629
NZ $0.6047 $0.6054 -0.11% -4.76% +$0.6066 +$0.6026
Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway 11.1810 11.1080 +0.69% +13.97% +11.2120 +11.0790
Euro/Norway 11.9886 11.8923 +0.81% +14.25% +12.0407 +11.8687
Dollar/Sweden 10.8681 10.8055 +0.61% +4.44% +10.8790 +10.7952
Euro/Sweden 11.6529 11.5818 +0.61% +4.51% +11.6644 +11.5803
(Reporting by Hannah Lang in Washington and Alun John in London; Additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Jan Harvey, David Evans and Susan Fenton)
