The yen fell in Asian trade on Wednesday against a basket of major rivals, giving up four-week highs against the greenback, and on track for the first loss in three days on profit-taking.
The US dollar index is holding its ground above three-year lows as US job openings surged in May, with traders now awaiting more crucial US labor data.
The odds of a Japanese interest rate hike in July tumbled following the Bank of Japans latest policy meeting, with traders now awaiting more Japanese labor and inflation data to gather clues.
The Price
The USD/JPY price rose 0.25% today to 143.74 yen per dollar, with a session-low at 143.31.
The yen rose 0.4% on Tuesday against the dollar, hitting a four-week high at 142.68 as the dollar continued to face a heavy selloff.
US Dollar
The dollar index rose 0.15% on Wednesday, holding above three-year lows at 96.38, and on track for the first profit in eight sessions on short-covering.
Recent US data showed job opportunities rose to 7.77 million by the end of May, beating estimates of 7.32 million.
The data showcases the flexibility of the US labor market ahead of new crucial private sector and government payrolls data this week.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the bank wouldve cut interest rates if it werent for President Trumps tariff plans.
In response to a question at the European Central Bank Forum in Portugal, he said the Fed paused its moves on interest rates when it saw the size of the tariffs, with inflation forecasts rising after their announcement.
Markets are also monitoring US President Trumps big tax bill, which passed the Senate and headed to the House, and is expected to add $3.3 trillion to total government debt.
Japanese Rates
The odds of a Bank of Japans 0.25% interest rate hike in July is still below 40%.
Now investors await more clues from Japan this week to form a more accurate prediction.