Yen Strengthens As Traders Remain Cautious

(RTTNews) - The Japanese yen strengthened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Monday, as traders remain cautious ahead of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy meeting, and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's half-yearly testimony due later in the week.

The Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision is set to release on Friday. Economists expect the BOJ to maintain its policy rate of -0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, trader's are keenly watching the BOJ management change. The government elected Kazuo Ueda to succeed Haruhiko Kuroda, whose Governorship ends in early April.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will deliver his two-day biannual monetary policy testimony on Capitol Hill in the coming two days. Investors are keenly watching for any hint on Fed's interest-rate hiking path. In the Asian session today, the safe-haven yen rose to a 5-day high of 144.15 against the euro, and a 4-day high of 144.76 against the Swiss franc, from Friday's closing values of 144.36 and 145.03, respectively. If the yen extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 141.00 against the euro and 140.00 against the franc.

The yen climbed to a 5-day high of 135.36 against the U.S. dollar, from Friday's closing value of 135.80. The yen is likely to find its resistance level around the 133.00 area.

Against the pound, the yen advanced to 163.17 from an early 4-day low of 163.68. The yen may find resistance around the 159.00 area.

Against the Australian and the New Zealand dollars, the yen climbed to 5-day highs of 91.52 and 84.27from last week's closing quotes of 91.87 and 84.48, respectively. The next resistance level for the yen is seen around 88.00 against the aussie and 82.00 against the kiwi.

The yen edged higher to 99.67 against the Canadian dollar, from Friday's closing value of 99.85. If the yen extends its uptrend, it is likely to find its resistance at 95.00 against the loonie.

Looking ahead, Swiss CPI for February is set to release at 2:30 am ET in the late Asian session. Economists expects the inflation rate to ease 3.1 percent from 3.3 percent in January.

Construction PMI reports for February from Eurozone and U.K. are due, later in the European session. Moreover, Eurozone investor confidence index for March and retail sales report for January are also due. In the New York session, U.S. factory orders for January and Canada Ivey's PMI for February are slated for release.