Asia Recap: Aussie still pressured, BoJ non-event

FXStreet (Bali) - The Japanese Yen saw positive flows following an unchanged BoJ policy statement - BoJ Kuroda press conference up next - , with the Australian Dollar continuing to trade poorly, extending overnight losses.

AUD/USD saw additional losses recorded from the get-go in Asia, declining to a new 12-day low of 0.9216 - lowest so far - until profit taking was noted , producing some 20 odd pips bounce before sellers stepped in again to settle the price around 0.9230 ahead of Europe.

On the fundamental front, Westpac's consumer sentiment came at its lowest level in over 2 years - first read that can catch the Australian consumer sentiment post the Australian budget release - ; additionally, the wage price index (QoQ) (Q1) was published, coming unchanged at +0.7%.

USD/JPY traded in a tight range ahead of the BoJ monetary policy decision, which was published 5m ahead of the usual 3GMT+, an indication that member s felt there were few new developments to be discussed for the monthly assessment in policies. BoJ said the economy continues to recover modestly, with the economic assessment unchanged. The capital expenditures, however, was revised upwards. After the outcome, the USD/JPY depreciated below Tuesday's low until 101.12. BoJ Governor Kuroda press conference at the European open is the next mover for JPY.

The rest of G10 currencies traded within familiar levels, with the exception of the Kiwi, which was also dragged lower on AUD/USD sales, poor sentiment, touching a new low for the week at 0.8552.

Main headlines

New Zealand Visitor Arrivals (YoY) rose from previous -6.3% to 11.8% in April

Japan's April trade deficit worse-than-expected

Westpac consumer sentiment lowest since August 2011

Australia Wage Price Index (QoQ) meets expectations (0.7%) in 1Q

BoJ keeps monetary policy steady