During early deals on Thursday, the Japanese yen showed strength against the Swiss franc, but moved down against the currencies of US, Europe and UK. The yen declined from an early Asian session's 2-day high against the dollar.
Against the US dollar, the Japanese yen traded down during early deals on Thursday. At about 3:05 am ET, the yen touched 105.59, dropped from an early Asian session's 2-day high of 104.66. As of now, the dollar-yen pair is quoted at 105.26.
The yen showed yen showed weakness against the European currency during Thursday's early deals. The euro-yen pair that closed Wednesday's North American session at is 149.94 is currently quoted at 150.96.
Against the British pound, the Japanese currency edged down to 191.58 at 3:00 am ET Thursday. The sterling-yen pair was worth 190.25 at Wednesday's close.
The Japanese yen gained ground after hitting a low of 95.62 against the Swiss franc at 8:45 pm ET Wednesday. The yen is currently trading at 95.19 against the franc, compared to yesterday's closing value of 94.92.
The Swiss trade surplus decreased to CHF1.43 billion as exports recorded a decline in August, the Federal Customs Office said today. The trade surplus for July was CHF2.29 billion. Economists had expected the trade surplus to rise to CHF2.37 billion. In real terms, exports declined 5.4% in August and imports slid 3.9%. At the same time, exports rose 2% in nominal terms to CHF14.97 billion and imports were down 3.4% to CHF13.54 billion.
The Bank of Japan said today in its Report of Recent Economic and Financial Developments that the economic growth has been sluggish against the backdrop of high energy and materials prices and weaker growth in exports, using the same wording from its August report.
The central bank noted that export growth has slowed. Business fixed investment has declined somewhat lately, as corporate profits have decreased mainly due to the deterioration in the terms of trade.
According to data released today by the Japan Department Stores Association, nationwide department store sales decreased 3.1% year-on-year in August, quicker than a 2.5% fall seen in July.
The indices of tertiary industry activity in Japan increased 1.2 percent in July compared to the previous month, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, standing at a seasonally adjusted score of 110.6.
Japan's Machine Tool Builders' Association, or JMTBA, revised its preliminary machine tool orders data for August today. According to the association, orders for Japanese machine tools decreased 13.9% year-on-year in August, revised up from an initial estimate of a 14.2% decline. This follows an 8.9% fall in July.
Markets now anxiously await UK retail sales report for August. Retail sale is predicted to fall 0.4% month-on-month, following a 0.8% rise in July.
A public sector finances report, which is also due from the Office for National Statistics give details of current budget balance, public sector net borrowings and public sector net cash requirements.
Meanwhile, the Bank of England is scheduled to publish a preliminary report for M4 money supply. M4 money supply growth is anticipated to slow to 10.6% annually in August from 11.2% in July.
The Swiss National Bank is set to announce the interest rate decision at 8.00 am ET today. The central bank is widely expected to hold the rate at 2.75%.
The US weekly jobless claims report, Philadelphia Fed index for September and the leading indicators for August will be released in the North American session.
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