Japanese Yen Weakens On Easing Concerns Over Energy Supply, Debt Ceiling

The Japanese yen fell against its most major counterparts during the Asian session on Thursday, as investor sentiment improved after a drop in oil prices following Russian President Vladimir Putin's assurance to increase natural gas exports to Europe to resolve the energy crisis.

Putin said that Russia is prepared to stabilize global energy markets by sending more gas to Europe than it has contracted for this year.

In another development, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday announced a short-term offer to suspend the U.S. debt ceiling after Democrats intensified pressure on Republicans to act to avert a default.

In a Twitter statement, McConnell said that the GOP will allow Democrats to use normal procedures to pass an emergency debt limit extension at a fixed dollar amount to cover current spending levels into December.

On the U.S.-China front, President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to hold a virtual meeting before the end of the year to defuse tensions between the two countries.

Preliminary data from the Cabinet Office showed that Japan's leading index decreased in August.

The leading index, which measures the future economic activity, fell to 101.8 in August from 104.1 in July. This was the lowest since February, when it was 98.9.

The yen dropped to 120.24 against the franc, 128.92 against the euro and 151.56 against the pound, off its prior highs of 119.84, 128.64 and 151.19, respectively. The next possible support for the yen is seen around 124.00 against the franc, 130.00 against the euro and 153.00 against the pound.

The yen reversed from its early highs of 80.97 against the aussie, 76.93 against the kiwi and 88.42 against the loonie, edging down to 81.32, 77.24 and 88.70, respectively. If the yen extends decline, 83.00, 80.00 and 90.00 are possibly seen as its next support levels against the aussie, the kiwi and the loonie, respectively.

In contrast, the yen rose to 111.23 against the greenback from yesterday's close of 111.40. The yen may locate resistance around the 110.00 level.

Looking ahead, the European Central Bank publishes the account of the monetary policy meeting of the Governing Council held on September 8 and 9 at 7:30 am ET.

Canada Ivey PMI for September, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended October 2 and consumer credit for August will be featured in the New York session.