Japanese Yen, USD/JPY, Covid, Steel Prices, Technical Outlook – TALKING POINTS
- Asia-Pacific markets face US Dollar headwinds going into the weekend
- Japanese Yen falls versus USD as the island nation faces higher steel costs
- USD/JPY eyes higher ground with little resistance before the 1998 high
Friday’s Asia-Pacific Outlook
US stocks rose on Thursday, stopping a multi-day losing streak. However, that may not offer much help to Asia-Pacific markets, given a stronger US Dollar. The benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.30%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 closed in positive territory, gaining 0.02%. The small-cap Russell 2000 index underperformed, falling more than 1% as lower crude oil prices weighed on the energy-heavy index.
The Greenback rose against its major peers as short-term Treasury yields tracked higher. Rate traders are betting that the Federal Reserve will deliver a 75-basis point rate hike at this month’s FOMC meeting. A healthy…
