The dollar-yen pair traded in the low ¥156 range in the Tokyo foreign exchange market on the afternoon of the 4th. Real-demand activity remained subdued ahead of the release of the U.S. August employment report.
As of 5 p.m. on the 4th, the dollar-yen pair stood at ¥156.30–31, down 73 sen from the previous day, as buying back after the previous day’s sharp decline ran its course. Sentiment remained cautious ahead of the U.S. employment report. The pair rose to around ¥157 during European hours before falling to around ¥155.30 in mid-U.S. trading, then returned to around ¥156 late in the session.
In Tokyo trading, the pair rose from the ¥155.80 range to ¥156 in the early morning and held at that level even after the Tokyo fixing. There were occasions when trading was triggered by remarks from the Ministry of Finance, but the pair often shifted into a recovery trend. With the market awaiting the U.S. data, large moves after the open were limited.
Late in the session, the euro traded at ¥181.65–67 against the yen and $1.1622–1.1622 against the dollar, with both markets remaining range-bound in parallel with dollar-yen trading. Some market participants said that the Tokyo market on the 4th, including overnight trading, could see a wider range depending on the U.S. employment report results.