Yen Sees Weakness Ahead Of Release Of Retail Data [USD/JPY], Wednesday, August 29, 2007 2:24:53 PM

The yen saw weakness versus its major counterparts on Wednesday in New York with traders looking ahead to the release of Japanese retail sales figures late Wednesday evening. Analysts are predicting that retail sales fell 2.5 percent in the month of July. Meanwhile, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed down 274.66 points or 1.7% at 16,012.83.

The yen dropped in afternoon trading against the dollar to extend its daily low on Wednesday in New York. The Japanese currency has seen weakness throughout the day and has fallen as low as 115.60. The losses erased most of the gains the yen gathers on Tuesday when it climbed to a two-week high.

The Japanese currency also moved away from a weekly-low against the euro. The yen reached as high as 154.52 late Tuesday night but has fallen throughout most of Wednesday. The pair moved at 157.82 at 2:15 p.m. ET.

The yen also saw weakness against the British pound. The Japanese currency moved lower through the morning before bouncing back in mid-day trading. It rallied again at around 2 p.m. ET to test support.

The economic calendar was light in the regions of the four biggest currencies. Traders are looking ahead Thursday, which will bring the release of retail PMI data in the Euro zone, GDP data in the U.S. and Nationwide house price data in the UK.

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