BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese yen extended its early strength against other major currencies in the Asian session on Tuesday, as traders await the highly anticipated Bank of Japan (BoJ) monetary policy meeting next week.
Recent statements made by BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda and his deputy Ryozo Himino that a raise will be at least discussed at the policy meeting on January 23-24.
There is a 79% chance that the market will experience a 25-basis point gain in the coming BoJ monetary policy.
Asian stock markets traded lower, as investors reacted to a slew of economic data from China, the world's second-largest economy. They also remain cautious and took a step back to assess the U.S. Fed's near-term interest rate trajectory.
Meanwhile, data showed the Chinese economy grew more than expected in the fourth quarter of 2024, bringing the annual GDP to 5 percent and matching Beijing's 5 percent growth target.
Industrial production grew more than expected in December and retail sales came in stronger than expected, helped by a flurry of stimulus measures combined with an export push before looming U.S. tariffs.
Retail sales improved an annual 3.7 percent, again topping expectations for 3.5 percent and up from 3.0 percent in the previous month.
Fixed asset investment was higher by 3.2 percent on year, shy of expectations for 3.3 percent, which would have been unchanged.
The jobless rate came in at 5.1 percent in December, above forecasts for 5.0 percent, which would have been unchanged from November.
The safe-haven yen started trading higher against its major rivals from 14th January 2025.
In the Asian trading today, the yen rose to more than a 1-month high of 159.73 against the euro, nearly a 1-1/2-month high of 189.42 against the pound and nearly a 1-month high of 154.98 against the U.S. dollar, from yesterday's closing quotes of 160.05, 190.08 and 155.37, respectively. If the yen extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 157.00 against the euro, 187.00 against the pound and 151.00 against the greenback.
Against the Swiss franc, the yen edged up to 170.26 from Thursday's closing value of 170.51. The yen may test resistance near the 167.00 region.
Looking ahead, the European Central Bank will issue euro area current account data for November at 4:00 am ET. Also, the Eurozone final inflation data for December is due to be released at 5:00 am ET in the European session.
In the New York session, U.S. housing starts, building permits, industrial and manufacturing productions reports, all for December, and U.S. Baker Hughes oil rig count data are slated for release.
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