USD/JPY hits new 15-year low as U.S. PPI, jobless claims eyed

NEW YORK (Forex News Now) – The yen advanced against the dollar on Thursday, hitting a fresh 15-year-high, ahead of key U.S. jobs and producer price inflation data and amid mounting expectations of more Fed easing.

In European late morning currency market trading, USD/JPY hit 80.89, the 15-year low. The currency pair later rose slightly to trade at 81.16, down 0.8 percent on the day.

The U.S. Labor Department was later due to publish a closely watched weekly report on initial jobless claims and data on producer price inflation in September. The Bureau of Economic Analysis, meanwhile, was to announce the U.S. trade balance in September.

According to intraday analysis, USD/JPY was likely to touch support around 81.55, Monday’s 15-year low, and encounter immediate resistance around the high of Oct. 7, 83.03.

In 2009, the U.S. Federal Reserve purchased USD 300 billion of Treasuries under a policy known as quantitative easing, or QE. In recent days, FX traders have been preparing for another round of buying that they have dubbed QE2.

Speculation over another round of monetary easing grew following the release on Tuesday of minutes from the Fed’s policy-setting panel’s last meeting

Elsewhere, the yen fell versus sterling: GBP/JPY traded at 130.17, up 0.09 percent, according to intraday analysis.