Investing.com - The dollar moved higher against the yen on Wednesday, pulling back from one-month lows hit overnight, but gains were held in check ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy statement later in the day.
USD/JPY was up 0.51% to 117.00 after falling to lows of 115.55 overnight, the weakest since November 17.
The dollar received a boost after data earlier showed that Japan’s exports grew by a smaller-than-forecast 4.9% in November, despite the steep fall in the yen, as slower demand in Asia and Europe weighed.
Investors remained wary ahead of the Fed’s policy statement, as ongoing speculation over the prospects for a U.S. rate hike next year have fuelled expectations that the U.S. central bank could adjust its forward guidance.
The traditional safe haven yen rallied on Tuesday as a rout in oil prices continued, adding to fears over the global economic outlook and the impact of oil’s drop on weakening emerging market economies and their currencies.
The Russian ruble fell to fresh record lows against the dollar on Tuesday, after a surprise interest rate hike failed to ease selling pressure on the currency from falling oil and western sanctions.
The euro also gained ground against the yen, with EUR/JPY up 0.42% to 146.27, off overnight lows of 144.94.
The single currency was lower against the firmer dollar, with EUR/USD down 0.19% to 1.2486. The pair rose to a three week high of 1.2568 on Tuesday after data showed that the closely watched ZEW index of German economic sentiment improved to its highest level since May this month.
This was offset by survey data showing that euro zone private sector activity grew at a picked up slightly in December after falling to a 16 month low last month, but the rate of expansion was still one of the weakest seen over the past year.
Elsewhere, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.29% to 88.30, off Tuesday’s almost three-week lows of 87.83.