Tuesday, 20 Jul 2010

Investors Cautiously Await BOJ Statement

The U.S. dollar edged lower against the yen throughout morning trading today, following a drop in risk taking ahead of a key announcement from the Bank of Japan (BOJ). Investors are cautiously awaiting a decision on whether the BOJ will intervene to limit yen growth. Japan is an export driven economy, meaning a strong yen limits the volume the country is able to sell. USD/JPY, currently trading around the 86.85 level, is still fairly close to the 7-month low the pair hit last week. The greenback appears to be fairing slightly better against the euro. EUR/USD has dropped some 100 pips since this morning, and is currently trading around the 1.2900 level.

In addition to the BOJ statement, traders will want to pay attention to the U.S. Building Permits report at 12:30 GMT as well as the Bank of Canada Rate Statement at 13:00 GMT. The U.S. economy has seen a string of negative news events over the last few weeks. Should the new building permits number come in above the forecasted 0.57M, the greenback could stage an afternoon rally against the yen. Analysts are predicting the Bank of Canada to raise overnight rates from 0.50% to 0.75%. If true, the loonie will likely see some gains against its main counterparts in afternoon and evening trading.