Japanese Yen Trades Lower As BoJ Says Tweaks In Policy Not An Exit

The Japanese yen was lower against its major counterparts on Wednesday, as the Bank of Japan Summary of Opinions from the December meeting showed that the decision to widen the trading band of 10-year Japanese government bond yield is not aimed to change the direction of monetary easing.

The widening of yield band is not a step toward an exit from monetary easing and the current accommodative policy stance should be maintained through JGB purchases, the summary showed.

The functioning of bond markets has deteriorated, and if this situation persisted, it could have a negative impact on financial conditions such as issuance conditions for corporate bonds and hamper the transmission of monetary easing effects.

In this circumstance, the bank decided that it would continue with yield curve control, but expand the range of 10-year Japanese government bond yield fluctuations from the target level, the summary added.

Data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed that Japan industrial production fell a seasonally adjusted 1.0 percent on month in November.

That beat expectations for a decline of 0.3 percent following the 3.2 percent drop in October.

The yen dropped to an 8-day low of 161.45 against the pound, from Tuesday's closing value of 160.54. On the downside, 165.00 is possibly seen as the next support level for the currency.

The yen weakened to 8-day lows of 84.66 against the kiwi, 90.78 against the aussie and 99.30 against the loonie, from yesterday's closing values of 83.78, 89.78 and 98.69, respectively. The yen is seen finding support around 86.00 against the kiwi, 93.00 against the aussie and 101.00 against the loonie.

The yen depreciated to 8-day lows of 134.40 against the greenback, 144.46 against the franc and 142.94 against the euro and held steady thereafter. At yesterday's trading close, the yen was quoted at 133.46 against the greenback, 143.53 against the franc and 141.99 against the euro.

Looking ahead, U.S. pending home sales for November will be published in the New York session.