Yen under pressure as BOJ keeps rates steady
Updates with prices as of 0252 GMT
By Brigid Riley
TOKYO, Oct 31 (Reuters) -The yen remained under pressure on Thursday as the Bank of Japan kept ultra-low interest rates steady, while the U.S. dollar consolidated ahead of jobs data later this week and the U.S. presidential election next week.
The Japanese currency has taken a beating this month as the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields have hovered around their highest since July.
The yen has fallen more than 6% in October and is on track for what would be its biggest monthly loss against the greenback since November 2016.
Japan's political shake-up has only added to the yen's woes, heightening uncertainty about the country's fiscal and monetary policy outlook.
The BOJ kept interest rates steady on Thursday and roughly maintained its forecast that inflation will hover near its 2% inflation target in coming years, signalling its readiness to continue rolling back its massive monetary stimulus.
Analysts are divided over the prospect of additional interest rate hikes by year-end, putting the focus on BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda's post-meeting briefing for clues on the pace and timing of further increases.
The yen JPY=EBS was down 0.02% at 153.34 versus the dollar, largely unchanged after the BOJ's decision as it hung not far off a three-month low of 153.885 hit on Monday.
"Any strengthening of the yen at present would likely result from a general weakening of the U.S. dollar if interest rates begin to align," said Sean Teo, a sales trader at Saxo.
The recent decline in the yen may be making many traders cautious given that excessive weakening could grab the attention of Japanese authorities, he added.
Markets got more economic data from China ahead of the BOJ's decision, with the National Statistics Bureau's manufacturing PMI showing activity in October expanded for the first time in six months.
The official PMI rose to 50.1 in October from 49.8 in September, just above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction and beating a median forecast of 49.9 in a Reuters poll.
The offshore yuan CNH=D3 held steady, last trading at 7.1309.
JOBS REPORT, PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN FOCUS
U.S. nonfarm payrolls closes out the week on Friday in the run-up to the presidential election on Tuesday.
Some investors have been putting on trades betting Republican candidate Donald Trump will win, although he is still neck and neck with Vice President Kamala Harris in several polls.
The dollar index =USD, which measures the currency against six major rivals, rose 0.08% to 104.17, after softening the previous day. It hit its highest since July 30 at 104.63 on Tuesday.
"Data overnight reaffirmed the underlying strength of the U.S. economy, largely supporting what's already built into the price rather than providing a fresh catalyst for a renewed push higher," Westpac analysts wrote in a note.
U.S. private payroll growth surged in October, data showed on Wednesday, overcoming fears of temporary disruption from hurricanes and strikes.
Meanwhile, separate data showed the U.S. economy grew at an annualised rate of 2.8% in the third quarter, slightly lower than the 3% expected by economists.
The euro EUR=EBS edged down 0.06% to $1.0849 after rising as high as $1.0871 on Wednesday. Regional inflation data and euro zone GDP came in stronger than expected on Wednesday, leading traders to trim back bets on an outsized rate cut from the European Central Bank in December.
Sterling GBP=D3 stood at $1.29445, down 0.13% so far on the day.
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar AUD=D3 slid 0.02% to $0.6573 after domestic retail sales numbers for September missed estimates, inching up just 0.1%. Analysts had looked for a gain of 0.3% in September.
The New Zealand dollar NZD=D3 ticked up 0.04% to $0.5974.
World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
Reporting by Brigid Riley; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Christopher Cushing
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
