The Japanese yen weakened against other major currencies in the European session on Wednesday, as investors looked ahead to Thursday\'s ECB meeting and the release of U.S. labor market data on Friday for directional cues.
The European Central Bank is expected to ease borrowing costs by 25 basis points from the present record levels of 4 percent.
In economic releases, the final reading of the HCOB eurozone composite PMI stood at 52.2 in May, down marginally from the preliminary reading of 52.3 but up from 51.7 in April.
That was the highest rate of growth since May 2023 as inflation continued to cool.
Data from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare showed that Japan\'s total labor cash earnings continued to increase in April, and at the quickest pace in ten months. Total earnings rose 2.1 percent year-over-year in April, faster than the revised 1.0 percent growth in March.
The safe-haven yen traded lower against its major rivals in the Asian session today.
In the European trading now, the yen declined to a record low of 175.14 against the Swiss franc, from an early high of 173.79.
The yen fell to 170.00 against the euro and 199.64 against the pound, from early highs of 168.41 and 197.68, respectively. If the yen extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 173.00 against the euro and 201.00 against the pound.
Against the U.S., Australia, the New Zealand and the Canadian dollars, the yen edged down to 156.30, 104.01, 96.75 and 114.29 from early highs of 154.78, 102.91, 95.59 and 113.14, respectively. The yen is likely to find support around 162.00 against the greenback, 106.00 against the aussie, 98.00 against the kiwi and 117.00 against the loonie.
Looking ahead, U.S. and Canada services PMI reports for May, U.S. ADP employment data and U.S. EIA weekly crude oil data are slated for release in the New York session.
At 9:45 am ET, the Bank of Canada will deliver its latest interest rate decision. The central bank is widely expected to cut its key interest rate to 4.75% from 5%.
Later, a post-press conference by Governor Tiff Macklem and senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers is scheduled at 10:30 am ET.