AUD/JPY consolidates near 84.60 amid risk-off mood

• AUD/JPY trades cautiously in the Asian session.
• AUD remains grounded on upbeat economic data.
• Yen gains on its safe-haven appeal.

The AUD/JPY currency pair seesaws in the Asian trading session on Wednesday. The cross confides in a very narrow trading band.

At the time of writing, AUD/JPY trades at 84.61, up 0.01% for the day.

The upbeat economic data continued to position the AUD relatively in a better position. As the global economic outlook improves, investors rush towards a riskier asset.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Meeting Minutes suggest that the central bank is committed to boosting the economy by keeping the finance costs very low. The policymakers reaffirmed their decision not to alter its monetary policy until a sustainable inflation target is achieved within the 2% to 3% of its target range.

On the economic side, the House Price Index rose 5.4% QoQ in March, just a tad below the market expectations at 5.5%. This is the steepest increase in housing prices since the fourth quarter of 2009. The rising housing prices pose a threat to price stability and inflation fears, which kept the gains limited for AUD.

In addition to that, the rising political tension between Australia and China also negatively impacted the performance of the Aussie dollar.

On the other hand, the Japanese yen found some ground as market volatility is high ahead of the Fed rate decision. Investors seek safer bets in times of uncertainty.

Meanwhile, Japan’s trade deficit narrowed to Ұ187.1b in May from Ұ856.7b. The exports grew 49.6% as compared to imports which rose at a softer 27.9%. The yen gains little traction as a reaction to the data.

AUD/JPY additional levels