Yen Falls Amid BoJ Rate Hike Uncertainty

(RTTNews) - The Japanese yen weakened against most major currencies in the European session on Friday, traders are skeptical that the BoJ would raise interest rates in the policy meeting on June 16.

Concerns persist over whether the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will raise interest rates during the June 16 policy meeting.

Later in the day, the U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report for May is anticipated by investors.

In order to obtain new information on the Federal Reserve's (Fed) monetary policy outlook, investors will keep a careful eye on the employment figures.

In economic news, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed that the average of household spending in Japan was down 0.5 percent on year in April, coming in at 328,969 yen. That beat forecasts for a decline of 1.5 percent following the 2.9 percent drop in March.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, household spending rose 1.6 percent - again exceeding expectations for a gain of 0.8 percent following the 1.3 percent drop in the previous month.

In the European trading today, the yen fell to a 3-day low of 186.21 against the euro, from an early high of 185.70. The yen may test support near the 188.00 region.

Against the pound, the Swiss franc and the Canadian dollar, the yen slipped to 2-day lows of 215.40, 203.14 and 115.30 from early highs of 214.59, 202.58 and 114.97, respectively. If the yen extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 217.00 against the pound, 205.00 against the franc and 116.00 against the loonie.

Looking ahead, Canada and U.S. jobs data for May, U.S. used car prices for May, Canada Ivey PMI data for May, U.S. weekly Baker Hughes oil rig count data and U.S. consumer credit change for April are slated for release in the New York session.