Investing.com – The Japanese yen rose during Asian trading hours on Monday following the release of worse than expected fourth quarter growth figures.
Japan’s cabinet office reported on Monday that country’s gross domestic product grew 0.3% in the quarter ending in December, same as in the previous quarter but against the expected rise of 0.7%.
The YoY GDP in Japan also rose only 1% against the expectation of 2.8% and previous rise of 1.1%. The YoY GDP price index fell 0.1% against a forecast of a 0.2% fall. In the previous year it fell 0.3%.
At 1330 Tokyo time (0430 GMT) Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will release monthly industrial production data. It is expected to rise 1.1% as in the previous month.
Earlier in the day, Statistics New Zealand reported that country’s retail sales for the fourth quarter rose 1.2% against an expectation of 1.6%. In the previous quarter they rose 0.2%.
NZD/USD rose 0.07% at 0.8373, AUD/USD went up 0.22% at 0.9054 and USD/JPY fell 0.19% at 101.63.
On Friday U.S. dollar fell after U.S. industrial production fell 0.3% from a month earlier in January, compared to expectations for a 0.3% gain.
The data fuelled concerns that the economic recovery has lost momentum since the end of last year as inclement winter weather weighed on growth.
The dollar’s losses were held in check by expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue to scale back its stimulus program.
In her first Congressional testimony since her appointment as Fed Chair, Janet Yellen said Wednesday that the central bank would continue to gradually reduce the pace of its asset purchase program.
She also reiterated that the Fed plans to hold interest rates at zero “well past” the time the jobless rate falls below 6.5%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.03% to 80.15.
In the week ahead, China is to produce preliminary data on manufacturing activity, while euro zone data on private sector output, U.K. employment data and a U.S. inflation report will also be in focus.