The yen strengthened against all of its major counterparts as corporate earnings concerns dragged down Asian stocks, boosting demand for refuge assets.
The currency earlier touched a four-month low against the dollar as a report showing Japan’s consumer prices declined for a fifth month added to prospects the central bank will expand monetary easing. Spanish data due today is forecast to show unemployment increased in the third quarter.
The yen traded at 80.21 per
dollar at 9:03 a.m. in Tokyo after earlier touching 80.38, the weakest
since June 25. It has lost 1.1 percent this week, poised for the biggest
five-day slide since the period ended Aug. 17. Photographer: Kiyoshi
Ota/Bloomberg
The yen rose 0.3 percent to 80.02 per dollar as of 1:27 p.m. in Tokyo after touching 80.38, the weakest since June 25. The Japanese currency climbed 0.3 percent to 103.54 per euro. Europe’s common currency was little changed at $1.2938 after a three-day decline.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of shares slid 0.9 percent as companies including Fanuc Corp. and China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. reported earnings that missed forecasts. Apple Inc.’s profit guidance fell short of analysts’ predictions.
Spain’s unemployment rate climbed to 25 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30 from 24.6 percent in the second quarter, according to economist estimates compiled by Bloomberg News. The National Statistics Institute will release the figure today.
Japan’s consumer prices excluding fresh food fell 0.1 percent in September from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said today. That’s well below the Bank of Japan (8301)’s 1 percent inflation target and compares with the 0.2 percent slide estimated by economists.
The BOJ will release a forecast for the nation’s inflation and growth on Oct. 30, when holding its second policy meeting this month. Economy Minister Seiji Maehara, who has been calling for more action from the central bank, said on Oct. 23 that he may attend the gathering.
0 comments:
Post a Comment