The Japanese yen climbed against its major opponents in the Asian session on Tuesday, erasing early losses, after the Bank of Japan kept its monetary stimulus unchanged and offered a positive view on inflation, changing its evaluation on prices to "stable" from "weak."
Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and his board members decided by an 8-1 majority vote to hold its target of raising the amount of outstanding JGB holdings at an annual pace of about JPY 80 trillion.
The bank will purchase government bonds so that the yield of 10-year JGBs will remain at around zero percent. The board also decided to maintain the -0.1 percent interest rate on current accounts that financial institutions maintain at the bank.
The bank said Japan's economy is expected to continue growing at a pace above its potential, mainly through fiscal 2018. That said, the yen's gains were limited due to rising risk appetite, on optimism over a deal to end the U.S. government shutdown.
Inflation expectations have been more or less unchanged, it said, compared to its previous outlook that they were falling, even as risks to prices remain skewed to the downside.
On the economic front, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed that Japan's all industry activity increased for the second straight month in November, and at a faster-than-expected pace.
The all industry activity index climbed 1.0 percent month-over-month in November, following a 0.3 percent rebound in October. Economists had expected a 0.8 percent rise for the month.
The yen fell on Monday, as U.S. stocks advanced after Senators reached a deal to end a three-day U.S. government shutdown.
It lost 0.10 percent against the greenback; 0.5 percent against the euro; 1.08 percent against the pound , and 0.4 percent against the franc for the day.
The yen reversed from an early low of 111.03 against the greenback, rising to 110.55. The next possible resistance for the yen is seen around the 109.00 area.
The yen appreciated 0.4 percent to 135.61 against the euro, from a 5-day low of 136.17 hit at 8:45 pm ET. The yen is poised to challenge resistance around the 134.00 level.
The yen strengthened to 115.03 against the franc and 154.67 versus the pound, reversing from a 4-day low of 115.47 and a 1-1/2-year low of 155.34, respectively hit earlier in the session. If the yen rises further, 114.00 and 153.00 are likely seen as its next resistance levels against the franc and the pound, respectively.
Having fallen to near a 4-month low of 81.56 against the kiwi at 8:30 pm ET, the yen reversed direction and advanced to 81.05. The yen is seen finding resistance around the 79.00 area.
The latest survey from Business NZ showed that New Zealand's services sector continued to expand in December, albeit at a slightly slower pace, with a Services PMI score of 56.0.
That's down from the upwardly revised 56.5 in November, although it remains well above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
The Japanese yen climbed to 88.42 against the aussie, by 0.7 percent from more than a 2-week low of 89.07 hit at 8:45 pm ET. Continuation of the yen's uptrend may see it challenging resistance around the 87.00 region.
Moving away from an early more than 2-week low of 89.07 against the loonie, the yen rose to 88.81. The yen is likely to challenge resistance around the 87.00 mark.
Looking ahead, U.K. public sector finance data for December and German ZEW economic sentiment index for January are due in the European session.
At 10:00 am ET, Eurozone advanced consumer sentiment index for January is set for release.
