Yen Rises As Most Asian Markets Trade Lower

The Japanese yen strengthened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Thursday as most Asian stocks markets traded lower as signs that the U.S. economy may see faster inflation coupled with the hawkish testimony from Fed Chair Janet Yellen boosted speculation that the Fed would raise interest rates at its meeting in March. Meanwhile, disappointing corporate earnings results also dampened investor sentiment.

Crude delivery for March is currently down by 0.07 percent or $53.04 per barrel. Crude oil prices inched lower Wednesday, holding in a stubborn trading range after government data confirmed U.S. inventories at record highs.

Wednesday, the yen had fallen 0.23 percent against the euro, 0.06 percent against the pound, 0.41 percent against the U.S. Dollar, and 0.14 percent against the Swiss franc.

In the Asian trading, the yen rose to 2-day highs of 141.79 against the pound, 113.76 against the U.S. Dollar, and 87.08 against the Canadian dollar, from yesterday's closing quotes of 142.25, 114.11 and 87.24, respectively. If the yen extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 137.00 against the pound,111.00 against the greenback and 85.00 against the loonie.

Against the euro and the Swiss franc, the yen advanced to 120.81 and 113.33 from yesterday's closing quotes of 120.99 and 113.49, respectively. The yen may test resistance around 119.00 against the euro and 112.00 against the franc.

Against the Australian and the New Zealand dollars, the yen edged up to 87.70 and 82.19 from an early 14-month low of 88.17 and more than a 2-week low of 82.59, respectively. On the upside, 85.00 against the aussie and 80.00 against the kiwi are seen as the next resistance levels for the yen.

Looking ahead, at 7:30 am ET, European Central Bank's latest monetary policy meeting accounts is due to be published.

In the New York session, U.S. building permits for January, U.S. Philly Fed manufacturing index for February, and U.S. unemployment claims for the week ended February 11 are slated for release.

At 8:00 am ET, European Economic and Financial Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici and European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny take part in a panel discussion on "the Future of Economic Monetary Union", in Vienna.

At 9:00 am ET, European Central Bank Board Member Benoit Coeure is scheduled to give keynote speech followed by panel discussion at an event on "25 years after Maastricht: The future of money and finance in Europe" jointly organized by the University of Maastricht, University of Duisburg-Essen, Technical University of Cologne and Ruhr-University Bochum in Maastricht, Netherlands.