With crude oil futures continuing to face limited upside in the London market, yen buying strengthened somewhat. Against the backdrop of falling crude prices, concerns over a deterioration in Japan's terms of trade eased, and USD/JPY briefly fell into the 154-yen range.
Yen buying was modest in early London trading, while NY crude oil futures continued to decline, moving below $100 and trading in the upper-$99 range. The fall in crude prices made the yen more prone to being bought back, and there was also speculation that the downward pressure on the yen would ease. USD/JPY found support after falling to the 154.30 level, then softened to 154.05-10, approaching its Tokyo afternoon low. EUR/JPY updated today's low at the 178.70 level. GBP/JPY was bought back to the 208.50 level before being pushed down to the 208.10 level.
Among the major currency pairs, USD/JPY was reported at around 154.10, EUR/JPY at around 178.74, and GBP/JPY at around 208.13. These price movements are viewed as reflecting developments in crude oil markets and yen buying.