Investing.com - The Japnese yen strengthened against the dollar on Tuesday after the Bank of Japan voted unaninously and as expected to keep its monetary base target steady, citing sustained moderate economic recovery.
USD/JPY traded at 102.87, down 0.22%, after the statement and ahead of a press conference by Governor Haruhiko Kuroda at 1530 local time (0630 GMT).
Japan earlier said its February current account balance reached ¥613 billion, compared to an expected surplus of ¥628 billion from a deficit of ¥1.589 trillion in the previous month.
Also in Japan at 1400 local time (0500 GMT) comes the Economy Watchers Index for March 14 - with the previous at 53 points, down 1.7 points and the Watchers Outlook Index, previously 49 points, down 9.0 points.
National Australia Bank released its business conditions and confidence survey for March, showing business confidence eased further in March to below the long-run trend level, dragged by subdued business conditions.
Business conditions recorded plus-4 in March, from plus-7 in February, while confidence came in at plus-1 in March from flat in February.
AUD/USD traded at 0.9280, up 0.11%, after the private survey.
Overnight, the dollar traded lower on concerns that a lukewarm March jobs report will mean dovish comments will arise in the minutes of the Federal Reserve's March policy meeting due for release mid-week.
On Friday, data revealed that the U.S. economy added 192,000 jobs in March, below expectations for jobs growth of 200,000.
The U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.7%, compared to expectations for a downtick to 6.6%.
The numbers sparked expectations that even though the Federal Reserve will continue to dismantle its monthly bond-buying program, the pace at which it closes the program remains up in the air.
Fed asset purchases, which currently stand at $55 billion a month, aim to drive recovery by suppressing long-term borrowing costs, weakening the dollar as a side effect.
The euro, meanwhile, received a shot in the arm after ECB policymaker Yves Mersch said earlier that while monetary authorities are working on plans to purchase assets to steer the euro zone away from deflationary purchases, such a program is not required yet, while Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny made similar comments.
Separately, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said that monetary policy cannot solve the financial crisis, and urged euro zone political leaders to enact fiscal and other reforms.
The comments came after ECB President Mario Draghi said last week that unconventional monetary policy instruments may be necessary to avert the risk of ongoing low inflation becoming entrenched in the euro zone.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.03% at 80.32.