Yen Climbs On Report Of Kazuo Ueda To Be Next BOJ Governor

(RTTNews) - A media report that the Japanese government is preparing to nominate Kazuo Ueda as the next governor of the Bank of Japan has strengthened the yen in the European session on Friday.

The Nikkei reported that Ueda will replace Haruhiko Kuroda when his term will end in April.

The report added that the government is likely to nominate Ryozo Himino and Shinichi Uchida as deputy governors.

Data from the Bank of Japan showed that Japan producer prices were flat on month in January.

That was shy of expectations for an increase of 0.3 percent and down from the upwardly revised 0.7 percent gain in December (originally 0.5 percent).

The yen climbed to 1-week highs of 141.06 against the franc and 129.79 against the greenback, from its prior low of 142.87 and a 3-day low of 131.88, respectively. The yen is seen finding resistance around 127.00 against the franc and 119.00 against the greenback.

The yen appreciated to a 3-week high of 139.55 against the euro and a 3-day high of 157.52 against the pound, from its early 3-day low of 141.51 and a 4-day low of 159.63, respectively. The currency is poised to find resistance around 136.00 against the euro and 154.00 against the pound.

The yen touched 90.23 against the aussie, its strongest level since January 23. Next key resistance for the currency is seen around the 86.5 level.

The yen strengthened to a 1-week high of 96.62 against the loonie and a 3-week high of 82.31 against the kiwi, off its early lows of 97.98 and 83.31, respectively. The currency is likely to find resistance around 94.00 against the loonie and 80.00 against the kiwi.

Looking ahead, Canada jobs data for January and University of Michigan's preliminary U.S. consumer sentiment index for February are due out in the New York session.