The dollar scaled a fresh 12-1/2 year high against the yen on Tuesday, breaching a key threshold along the way as it extended a strong run after upbeat US data.
Dollar bulls latched onto a survey showing a pick up in US manufacturing activity and construction spending that pushed Treasury yields higher, while discounting less upbeat data on consumer spending.
The US currency popped above 125.00 yen for the first time since late 2002. It has since eased back to 124.64 from a high of 125.07.
“The rise by the dollar against the yen has been steep but sentiment favours testing new highs rather than consolidating,’’ said Kyosuke Suzuki, director of forex at Societe Generale in Tokyo.
Yen’s weakness
Muted comments by Japanese officials on the yen’s weakness did little to dent the dollar’s momentum.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda told reporters after a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that it was important for currency rates to reflect economic fundamentals, but made no attempt to talk up the yen. Finance Minister Taro Aso was equally tight-lipped, saying only that he will watch forex moves carefully.
Momentum turned bullish for the dollar after it cracked a double-top resistance around 122.00 yen last week, and it has not looked back since.
“There were option barriers at 125 yen, which some players tried taking out yesterday but failed under defensive fire. But they succeeded today,’’ said Kaneo Ogino, director at Global-info Co in Tokyo, a foreign exchange research firm.
The next chart hurdle is seen around 125.65-125.73, an area that capped the dollar back in the final months of 2002.
“Despite the speed of the move, we are not looking to fade it - our end year target is still 132,’’ said Elsa Lignos, a senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets.
RBA tonic
A big mover during the Asian trading session was the Australian dollar, which jumped after the Reserve Bank of Australia stood pat on monetary policy as widely expected but refrained from providing an easing bias that some in the market were looking for.
The battered Aussie was up 1 per cent at $0.7683, pulling away from a seven-week low of $0.7598 struck overnight against a buoyant dollar.
The euro edged up 0.2 per cent to $1.0941, having fallen as low as $1.0887 overnight as it continued to retreat from last week’s peak of $1.1006.
Greece debt deal
Traders said the fact that its decline has been relatively shallow suggested there was some degree of optimism that Greece will ultimately secure a deal and avoid a debt default.
That could also explain why the common currency actually rose on the yen, reaching its highest in over two weeks at 136.62.
The leaders of Germany, France and Greece’s international creditor institutions had agreed late on Monday to work with “real intensity’’ in the coming days as they try to clinch a deal in debt negotiations with Athens.
Athens is due to make a €300-million ($327.93 million) repayment to the IMF on Friday amid growing doubts about its ability to meet all this month’s financial obligations.