The dollar eased slightly to around ¥103.70 in lackluster Tokyo trading Wednesday, amid a wait-and-see mood just ahead of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥103.73-74, down from ¥104.00-04 at the same time Tuesday. The euro was at $1.2155-2155, up from $1.2104-2104, and at ¥126.08-09, up from ¥125.88-88.
After fluctuating around ¥103.90 in early trading on dollar buying by Japanese importers for settlement purposes, the dollar fell to around ¥103.70 later in the morning as the Nikkei stock average turned lower.
The U.S. currency moved narrowly around ¥103.70-80 in the afternoon amid an absence of fresh trading incentives.
Market participants “are waiting to hear what Biden has to say on U.S.-China ties in his (inauguration) speech,” a currency broker said.
In a U.S. Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen showed her readiness to launch large-scale fiscal measures.
But the impact of her remark was limited on the dollar-yen sector because it gave little surprise to currency market players, market sources said.
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