Yen Drops As Asian Shares Traded Higher

(RTTNews) - The Japanese yen weakened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday, as Asian stock markets traded higher following the mostly positive cues from global markets overnight. Meanwhile, traders remain cautious amid renewed uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates following the release of the minutes of the U.S. Fed's latest monetary policy meeting earlier in the week.

They now look ahead of the closely watched monthly U.S. jobs report for further cues. Economists expect employment to increase by 170,000 jobs in December after an increase of 199,000 jobs in November.

In economic news, data from the Cabinet Office showed that confidence among Japanese households regarding the economic situation improved for a third month in a row in December to reach its highest level since July. The consumer confidence index rose to 37.2 from 36.1 in November. Economists had expected a score of 36.6.

The unemployment rate is expected to inch up to 3.8 percent from 3.7 percent. In the Asian trading today, the yen depreciated to a record low of 170.54 against the Swiss franc, from yesterday's closing value of 170.05.

The yen dropped to a 1-month low of 158.68 against the euro, from Thursday's closing value of 158.29. On the downside, 162.00 is seen as the next support level for the yen.

Against the pound and the U.S. dollar, the yen slipped to near 3-week lows of 183.88 and 144.95 from yesterday's closing quotes of 183.35 and 144.62, respectively. If the yen extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 188.00 against the pound and 149.00 against the greenback.

Against the Australia, the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars, the yen slid to an 8-day low of 97.23, a 9-day low of 90.37 and a 1-month low of 108.52 from yesterday's closing quotes of 96.98, 90.16 and 108.32, respectively. The yen may test support near 98.00 against the aussie, 92.00 against the kiwi and 111.00 against the loonie.

Looking ahead, Construction PMI reports from various European economies and U.K. for December, Eurozone CPI and PPI data for December, are slated for release in the European session.

In the New York session, U.S. and Canada jobs data, PMI reports, all for December, U.S. factory orders for November and U.S. Baker Hughes oil rig count data are set to be published.