EUR/JPY trades broadly flat near 181.94 on Wednesday, up a marginal 0.01% as the cross pauses after a steady four-session recovery.
The pair has clawed back a significant portion of the collapse triggered by last week’s Japanese intervention and the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) hawkish hold, with buyers gradually restoring a series of higher lows
The Euro (EUR) drew support from a stronger-than-expected batch of final services surveys. Spain’s HCOB Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) surged to 58.3 in July, comfortably above the 55.3 preliminary estimate and well up from the previous 54.2. Germany’s Services PMI was revised higher to 49.8 from 49.6, although it remains below the 50 threshold that separates expansion from contraction, while the German Composite PMI gauge improved slightly to 51.3.
The Eurozone Composite PMI rose modestly to 52 from the 51.9 flash reading, pointing to a gradual private-sector recovery led by the periphery. On the Japanese side, the BoJ released the Minutes of its June policy meeting overnight. The document predates both the suspected intervention and last week’s 8–1 vote to hold rates at 1%, limiting its capacity to move markets, but investors combed through the discussion for early evidence of the hawkish shift that has since taken hold within the board.