Yen Extended Losses - 19.4.2012

In Asian trading hours Japanese yen extended two-day losses against the US dollar and the euro as nation’s central bank officials keep on reiterating that further easing is possible and the bank is ready to take additional steps if necessary. Moreover Japan’s Ministry of Finance reported today the nation's foreign trade statistics for March. The data showed that the value of imports exceeded the value of exports by 82.6 billion yen last month, following a revised surplus of 29.4 billion yen in February. Therefore the total trade deficit for the first three months of 2012 widened to 1.534 trillion yen, compared with a 4.4 billion yen deficit in 2011 without seasonal adjustment. The US dollar strengthened against the yen from 80.33 on Tuesday to 82.50 by the end of the Asian trading session today. The single currency also gained ground rising from Monday’s low at 104.62 and reaching 107.03 today.