CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese yen weakened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Monday amid rising risk appetite, as Asian stocks rose paring most of its initial losses. The negative lead from Wall Street following weaker than expected
U.S.
jobs data and the tumble in crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiment.
Investors await the Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's testimony to Congress due on Wednesday for clues about the near-term interest-rate increase.
In other economic news, data from the Ministry of Finance showed that
Japan
had a current account surplus of
960.7 billion yen in December, up 325.2 percent on year. The headline figure was shy of expectations for
1,051.7 billion yen and down from
1,143.5 billion yen in November.
The trade balance showed a surplus of 188.7 billion yen, beneath forecast for 305.3 billion yen but up from the 271.5 billion yen deficit in the previous month.
Exports were down 11.8 percent on year to 6.247 trillion yen after dipping 6.3 percent in November. Imports skid an annual 18.9 percent to 6.059 trillion yen after tumbling an annual 10.9 percent in the previous month.
The Bank of Japan said that the total value of overall bank lending in
Japan
was up 2.3 percent on year in January, coming in at
498.470 billion yen. That follows the 2.2 percent increase in December.
Last Friday, the yen showed mixed performance against its major rivals. While the yen rose against the euro, the pound and the
U.S.
dollar, it fell against the Swiss franc.
In the Asian trading, the yen fell to a 6-day low of 118.06 against the Swiss franc, from Friday's closing value of 117.80. The yen is likely to find support around the 120.00 area.
Against the euro, the yen dropped to 130.66 from an early 5-day high of 130.11. On the downside, 133.00 is seen as the next support level for the yen.
The yen edged down to 170.19 against the pound, from last week's closing value of 169.35. The next possible downside target level for the yen is seen around the 175.00 area.
Against the
U.S.
and the Canadian dollars, the yen slid to 117.26 and 84.41 from Friday's closing quotes of 116.79 and 83.92, respectively. If the yen extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 121.00 against the greenback and 88.00 against the loonie.
Meanwhile, the yen rose to 83.21 against the Australian dollar, from Friday's closing value of 82.46. The yen may test resistance near the 87.00 region.
Against the NZ dollar, the yen edged up to 77.88 from an early 10-day high of 77.28. On the upside, 80.00 is seen as the next resistance level for the yen.
Looking ahead, Eurozone Sentix investor confidence index for February is due to be released at 4:30 am ET.
In the
New York
session,
Canada
housing starts for January and building permits for December and
U.S.
labor market conditions index for January are set to be published.
At 12:05 pm ET, Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Timothy Lane will deliver a speech titled "Monetary Policy and Financial Stability-Using the Right Tools" at the HEC Montreal.
Chinese banks will be closed in observance of the Spring Festival holiday.
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