The yen nursed modest losses early in Asia on Wednesday, while the other major currencies drifted in familiar ranges with investors seemingly lacking enough conviction to break to new ground.
The dollar last stood at 119.70 yen, not far from a one-week high of 119.83 set overnight. The euro was back around 128.50 yen, having climbed from a low of 127.45. Notably, the New Zealand dollar touched a three-month high of 92.10 yen, before easing back to 91.71 yen.
“Markets were quiet overnight with no major news to drive proceedings,” noted Imre Speizer, a senior strategist at Westpac. The euro managed to hold steady above $1.0700 after attempts to push it lower ended in failure. Traders said that prompted a squeeze in short positions that lifted it off $1.0660.
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