Dollar jumps to one-week high versus yen report Pacific Chiba Trust

Dollar jumps to one-week high versus yen report Pacific Chiba Trust

The U.S. dollar rose to a one-week high against the Japanese yen on Tuesday. The greenback rose 0.68% versus the yen to reach 118.35. The U.S. dollar index moved higher 0.16% to 93.00.

“This came after data showed that economic growth in China remained steady in the fourth quarter,” commented Louis Hunter, Head of Mergers & Acquisitions at Pacific Chiba Trust.

China’s gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 7.3% in the fourth quarter, beating economists' previous forecasts for growth to slow to 7.2% from 7.3% in the third quarter. However, China's economy slowed to 1.5%, on a quarter-over-quarter basis, from 1.9% in the third quarter, compared to forecasts for 1.7%. 

The report eased concerns over the slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

Meanwhile, the euro remained broadly lower ahead of the European Central Bank (ECB) meeting later this week. It slipped 0.10% versus the dollar to 1.1590, as investors waited to see if the ECB would embark on an outright quantitative easing program on Thursday.

The euro moved higher against the yen, rising 0.36% to 136.95.

“The euro has been pressured by mounting expectations that the ECB would launch a government bond-buying program, so as to to stave off the threat of deflation in the euro area” commented Charles Harper, Head of Corporate Finance at Pacific Chiba Trust.

The single currency was also weighed by uncertainty over the outcome of Greek elections, due to be held on Sunday, with anti-bailout party Syriza leading in the polls.