Japanese Yen Underperforms Against Majors

(RTTNews) - The Japanese yen was lower against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Thursday, despite the release of better-than-expected GDP data out of the country for the third quarter.

Data from the Cabinet Office showed that Japan's gross domestic product contracted 0.8 percent on year in the third quarter of 2022.

That exceeded expectations for a decline of 1.1 percent following the 4.6 percent increase in the previous three months.

On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, GDP fell 0.2 percent - again beating forecasts for a decline of 0.3 percent after climbing 1.1 percent in the three months prior.

Investors await the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision due next week to assess the future direction of rate hikes.

The yen weakened to 137.25 against the greenback and 145.63 against the franc, down from an early high of 136.24 and a 2-day high of 144.86, respectively. The next possible support for the currency is seen around 139.00 against the greenback and 147.00 against the franc.

The yen declined to 167.18 against the pound and 144.05 against the euro, reversing from its previous highs of 166.36 and 143.25, respectively. The yen is likely to face support around 169.00 against the pound and 146.00 against the euro.

The yen edged down to 87.11 against the kiwi and 92.09 against the aussie, off its early highs of 86.54 and 91.62, respectively. The yen is seen finding support around 90.00 against the kiwi and 94.00 against the aussie.

The yen dropped to 100.26 against the loonie, from a 3-day high of 99.79 hit at 6:30 pm ET. If the yen extends drop, 102.00 is seen as its next support level.

Looking ahead, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended December 3 will be released in the New York session.