USD/JPY climbs from three-week nadir after Japanese data

USD/JPY tilted higher in Asian trade from March 18 lows following earlier industrial data from Japan and ahead of US data today. 

As of 05:51 GMT, USD/JPY rose 0.13% to 108.90, with a session-high at 109.00. 

Earlier Japanese data showed machine orders up 2.3%, slowing down from 2.9% in January. 

Japan's current account showed a surplus of 3,169 billion yen in February, compared to 612 billion yen in January. 

An index tracking current conditions came to minus 14.2, while the future conditions index fell to minus 22.2.  

PM Shinzo Abe announced a state of emergency in Tokyo and Osaka and five other cities for a month, with the government readying to launch a $990 billion stimulus package to bolster the economy. 

From the US, the Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its March 15 meeting, at which policymakers cut rates to zero in a drastic measure to prop up the economy in the time of Covid 19. 

Fed Governor Jerome Powell said back then the fallout from the virus will be felt in the near and medium terms, with exports falling due to global economic slowdown. 

Powell said the Fed is coordinating with other central banks in Canada, Japan, and England, will all central banks deciding to cut rates and flood the market with liquidity to prop it up.

On the fiscal side, US Congress passed a $2.2 trillion economic rescue bill, with President Donald Trump signing it into action to help most impacted companies and families. 

US President Donald Trump warned of a painful period in American, after extending social distancing guidelines until the end of April.