Yen drops on machinery orders

Story link: Yen drops on machinery orders

The yen weakened again on Monday, hitting a new low versus the euro before bouncing back to trade even against the shared currency.

Declines for the yen came after new data on machinery orders was much stronger than expected, up 5.9 percent in June, raising the possibility of higher interest rates in Japan.

While the yen dropped to ¥168.54 versus the euro, a new record low, by midday in New York it had regained its previous level of ¥168.03.

Sterling added 0.3 percent to ¥248.51, while the Australian dollar was 0.4 percent higher against the Japanese currency to ¥106.19.

The US dollar traded even versus the yen at ¥123.30, unaided by last week’s employment data amid the expectations of many that US interest rates will not rise before the end of the year.

Sterling was helped by indications that British manufacturers are going go have to raise prices in order to increase margins after new producer price inflation data showed that output prices rose less than had been anticipated in June, while costs to the manufacturers were at a six-month high.

The pound added 0.2 percent to $2.0515 in relation to the greenback, while it added 0.3 percent to £0.6761 versus the euro.