Asian session: The yen was supported

The yen was supported as technical indicators signaled its recent decline may have been too rapid. The currency’s 14-day relative strength index against the dollar was at 27, its fifth- straight day below the 30 level that some traders see as a sign an asset is about to change direction. Against the euro, it was at 31.

Japan’s currency pared a weekly decline that comes as opposition leader Shinzo Abe, who is favored to become the country’s next prime minister after elections on Dec. 16, increased pressure on the Bank of Japan to add to stimulus measures that tend to weaken the yen. Japan’s Abe, who heads the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, said intervention to weaken the yen is not effective, especially if the country acts alone in the currency market, the Wall Street Journal reported today, citing an interview yesterday. The BOJ should work to increase the nation’s monetary base and set a clear inflation target, the newspaper quoted Abe as saying.

The euro traded near its highest level in three weeks on prospects finance ministers will agree on an aid package for Greece next week, even after a report showed Europe’s common currency area slipped back into recession. A composite index based on a survey of purchasing managers in manufacturing and services in the euro zone was at 45.8 in November compared with 45.7 in October, London-based Markit Economics said yesterday. A report last week showed the region’s gross domestic product slipped for a second-straight period in the third quarter, the first back-to-back drop since 2009.

EUR / USD: during the Asian session, the pair traded in the range of $1.2865-85.

GBP / USD: during the Asian session, the pair rose to $1.5950.

USD / JPY: during the Asian session the pair fell to Y82.15.