Yen Falls As Asian Stock Markets Traded Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese yen weakened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Wednesday, as Asian stock markets traded higher following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, as optimism about a few interest rate cuts by the U.S. Fed this year, and a drop in global bond yields. Markets in China and Hong Kong were down as the U.S. administration was discussing a 10 tariff against China and said tariffs on China could hinge on a deal over TikTok's ownership.

Traders are also assessing the possible impact of the Trump administration's economic policies and likely tariff proposals.

Ahead of Thursday's Bank of Japan (BoJ) meeting, traders may also decide to take a backseat.

However, around 92 percent of the traders anticipate a hike in rates from 0.25 percent to 0.50 percent in the January 23-24 policy meeting.

The BOJ officials also believe there is a good possibility that rates will rise, as long as Trump doesn't cause too many unfavorable shocks right away.

In the Asian trading today, the yen fell to 1-week lows of 162.39 against the euro, 192.37 against the pound and 171.96 against the Swiss franc, from yesterday's closing quotes of 162.07, 192.16 and 171.77, respectively. If the yen extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 165.00 against the euro, 198.00 against the pound and 175.00 against the franc.

Against the U.S., Australia, the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars, the yen edged down to 155.96, 97.70, 88.23 and 108.79 from Tuesday's closing quotes of 155.75, 97.53, 88.16 and 108.60, respectively. The yen may test support near 159.00 against the greenback, 99.00 against the aussie, 90.00 against the kiwi and 111.00 against the loonie.

Looking ahead, U.K. public sector finance data for December are due to be released at 2:00 am ET in the pre-European session.

In the New York session, U.S. MBA mortgage approvals data, Canada PPI data and raw material prices for December, U.S. Consumer Board's leading index for December and U.S. Redbook report are slated for release.