The US dollar extended its recent rally against the Japanese currency in early trading on Wednesday. The greenback soared to near a 6-week high of 92.83 versus the yen by 7:15 am Eastern Time, up from an Asian session low of 92.11. On the upside, the dollar-yen pair is likely to target near the 93.6 level. The pair that closed Tuesday at 92.42 is currently trading at 92.81.
Investors chewed a final report from the Economic and Social Research Institute showing the Japanese leading index stood at 80 in December, revised up from the initial estimate of 79.8. In November, the reading was 81.8. Meanwhile, the coincident index for December was upwardly revised to 92.4 from 92.3. However, the reading was below November's 94.9.
Also, the Bank of Japan began its two-day policy meeting today. Analysts expect the central bank to leave its interest rate unchanged at 0.10% at the end of the meeting tomorrow.
Traders now likely to focus on the New York session, in which the US import and export price indexes, housing starts and the industrial production reports-all for the month of January have been slated for release.
News are provided by InstaForex in partnership with RTT.