Yen Falls Amid Risk Appetite

(RTTNews) - The Japanese yen weakened against other major currencies in the European session on Monday, as investor sentiment improved on banking concerns ease.

Investor sentiment improved after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. or FDIC announced an agreement by which the First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co., affiliated to First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (FCNCA), will buy all deposits and loans of Silicon Valley Bridge Bank.

The U.K. FTSE 100 is up 0.59 percent at 7,448 points, while the German DAX is up 0.55 percent at 15,057 points. In France, the CAC 40 climbed 0.6 percent at 7,057 points.

Deutsche Bank remains profitable and there's no reason to doubt its future, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Friday during a news conference in Brussels.

Elsewhere, the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council said the U.S. banking system was "sound and resilient" despite the stress on some institutions.

In economic news, data from the Cabinet Office showed that Japan's leading index dropped to 96.6 in January from 97.2 in the previous month. In the flash report, the reading was 96.5. Further, this was the lowest reading since November 2020, when it was 96.3.

The coincident index that measures the current economic situation also weakened to an 8-month low of 96.4 in January from 99.4 in the previous month. The score was revised from 96.1.

The safe-haven currency traded steady against its major rivals in the Asian session today.

In the European session, the safe-haven yen fell to a 4-day low of 131.31 against the U.S. dollar, 142.85 against the Swiss franc, and 95.61 against the Canadian dollar, from early highs of 130.49, 141.57, and 94.95, respectively. If the yen extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 134.00 against the greenback, 144.00 against the franc and 97.00 against the loonie.

Against the euro and the pound, the yen dropped to 141.23 and 160.52 from early highs of 140.53 and 159.57, respectively. The yen may find its support around 144.00 against the euro and 163.00 against the pound.

Moving away from early highs of 86.62 against the Australian dollar and 80.89 against the NZ dollar, the yen slipped to 87.36 and 81.46, respectively. On the downside, the yen may find its support around 91.00 against the Aussie and 83.00 against the kiwi.

Looking ahead, the U.S. Dallas Fed manufacturing index for March is due at 10:30 am ET.

At 10:40 am ET, European Central Bank Board member Frank Elderson will deliver a speech on the management and supervision of banks' climate-related and environmental at the 30th anniversary of the Foreign Bankers' Association in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

At 11:00 am ET, a conversation with ECB board member Isabel Schnabel is scheduled at an event organized by Columbia Economics - Program for Economic Research, SGH Macro Advisors, and Richard Paul Richman Center at Columbia University in New York.

At 1:00 pm ET, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey will deliver a speech at the London School of Economics.

At 5:00 pm ET, U.S. Federal Reserve Board Governor Philip Jefferson is scheduled to speak on "Implementation and Transmission of Monetary Policy," before H. Parker Hill Lecture event hosted by Washington and Lee University, in Lexington, Virginia.