Asian session: Commodity currencies rose

Commodity currencies rose on Tuesday with the Australian dollar hitting a 10-month high while the yen edged lower after oil prices appeared to stabilize from a sharp slide, underpinning risk sentiment.

The Aussie and other commodity currencies benefited from oil's bounce off lows touched on Monday, when they came under pressure after major oil producing countries failed to agree on an output freeze on Sunday. As risk appetite in broader financial markets also recovered, the U.S. dollar held the upper hand against the low-yielding yen.

The yen showed little reaction to news that Japan's government nominated Takako Masai, an executive at Shinsei Bank Ltd and an advocate of aggressive monetary easing, to join the Bank of Japan's policy board. New York Fed President William Dudley, seen as close to the Fed's mainstream thinking, said on Monday U.S. economic conditions are "mostly favorable" yet the Federal Reserve remains cautious in raising interest rates because threats loom. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that the trend in inflation could be affected if the yen continued to appreciate excessively.

EUR/USD: during the Asian session the pair traded in the range of $1.1375-05

GBP/USD: during the Asian session the pair fell to $1.4160

USD/JPY: during the Asian session the pair fell to Y107.80

Based on Reuters materials