<figure id="attachment_2896047" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2896047" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-2896047" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/78780513-bank-of-japan.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-2896047" class="wp-caption-text">The Bank of Japan is widely expected to hike rates by 25 basis points to 0.75% on Friday. (EPA Images pic)</figcaption></figure>
SINGAPORE: The yen rallied and the dollar pushed up from a two-month low in Asian trading on Tuesday, as renewed volatility sent investors looking for havens ahead of delayed US jobs data and a clutch of central bank decisions.
The yen shot up 0.3% to 154.735 against the dollar, as traders braced for the Bank of Japan&#8217;s decision on Friday, at which it is widely expected to hike rates by 25 basis points to 0.75%.
&#8220;Market optimism over a Bank of Japan hike this Friday remains intact,&#8221; said Christopher Wong, currency strategist at OCBC in Singapore. &#8220;While the US tech and Asian equity sell-off did weigh on sentiment, it was not affecting the currencies too broadly.&#8221;
The dollar index, which measures the currency&#8217;s strength against a basket of six key rivals, was trading at 98.256, nudging higher after earlier approaching the lowest level since Oct 17.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its long-awaited combined employment reports for October and November later on Tuesday, following delays to data collection during the longest US government shutdown in history. A raft of preliminary manufacturing indicators are also due for release.
The jobs data &#8220;will help give closure on how US employment conditions were panning out during the federal government shutdown,&#8221; Paul Mackel, global head of FX research at HSBC, wrote in a research report. &#8220;The Fed’s messaging last week gave us reassurance that the broad USD is not out of the woods yet.&#8221;
Fed funds futures are pricing an implied 75.6% probability of a hold in rates at the US central bank&#8217;s next meeting on Jan 28, unchanged from a day earlier, according to the CME Group&#8217;s FedWatch tool.
However, some analysts are sceptical that the data fog will clear completely after the data release.
&#8220;October could include all the DOGE job cuts that have been delayed and not accounted for,&#8221; said Rodrigo Catril, currency strategist at National Australia Bank in Sydney, referring to mass layoffs by Elon Musk&#8217;s so-called Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year.
&#8220;I&#8217;m not sure if we&#8217;re going to get a sense of what happening in October, but we should and need to know what happened then to get a sense of the path of job creation in the US,&#8221; he said on a podcast.
The Chinese yuan trading offshore was last 0.1% firmer at 7.0381 to the dollar, its strongest level since Oct 3, 2024.
&#8220;We view this as a deliberate move to steer the RMB on a gradual appreciation path while maintaining market order,&#8221; said OCBC&#8217;s Wong. He said he was watching whether policymakers will attempt to slow the pace of appreciation through their daily fixings.
Markets will have to contend with several other central bank decisions due this week, including the Bank of England, which is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.75%. The European Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates on hold, alongside Sweden&#8217;s Riksbank and Norway&#8217;s Norges Bank.
The euro was steady at US$1.1751 as peace talks to end the war in Ukraine made progress, with the US offering to provide Nato-style security guarantees for Kyiv. The British pound was 0.1% lower at US$1.3368.
The Australian dollar was last 0.1% weaker at US$0.6635, little changed following a private survey showing that consumer sentiment slid in December.
The kiwi dollar was down 0.1% at US$0.5778 as markets pared bets on rate hikes next year and the government&#8217;s mid-year budget revealed a small reduction in bond issuance.
Cryptocurrency markets fluctuated between gains and losses after a pullback on Monday. Bitcoin was down 0.7% at US$85,620.38, while ether was 1.1% lower at US$2,912.30.

MatchPoint Times

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