Yen traded mostly flat against the greenback in Asian trade not far from July 20 lows, following policy decisions by Bank of Japan and ahead of US housing data. 

As of 06:58 GMT, USD/JPY barely inched down to 112.35, with an intraday low at 112.23, and a two-month high at 112.43. 

Bank of Japan voted today to hold interest rates at minus 0.10% for the 16th meeting in a row as expected by market analysts, while introducing more flexibility in the monetary policy. 

Now markets await US housing starts data, expected with a 5.7% increase to 1.235 million units in August, while building permits are estimated with a 0.5% increase to 1.310 million. 

Litecoin titled higher on Wednesday away from September 12 lows, back when it plumed September 2017 lows, amid limited short-covering operations following a violent crypto selloff wave this year. 

As of 06:53 GMT, Litecoin rose 0.27% to $54.144, with an intraday high at $54.821, and a low at $53.859. 

Both the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) cracked down on several scams in the crypto business, such as a hedge fund under the name Crypto Asset Management for selling securities under the false assumption of approval by the SEC. 

Otherwise, Litecoin Core recently released the new 0.16.2 update for Litecoin for the public after months of development and testing, with the new edition offering fixes to bugs and improvements in performance and some updates to translations. 

Additionally, Founder of Litecoin Charlie Lee spoke recently about the state of the market for both Bitcoin and Litecoin, expressing beliefs that the current bearish trend would prompt bargain hunters to become active because of how cheap crypto assets have become. 

He stated “I think it’s it’s always good to buy on the way down… That’s what I would recommend people to do… As long as you don’t spend money that you can’t afford to lose, I think that’s fine. I think it’s really bad for people who like mortgage their house, put all their money into a coin and then watch it drop like 80% but as long as you can afford to, I’d say spend some money buy some crypto it’s perfectly fine.”

The Path of Litecoin 

Litecoin was first publicly offered in the first half of 2013 at only $3, marking record lows at below $1 in early 2015 before taking off on its long and spotted journey higher. 

The cryptocurrency pierced $100 for the first time on November 29, 2017, before scaling a record high at $370.78 on December 19, and plummeting back below $100 on June 12, then moving on to $49.144 in mid-August.

Silver futures rose in Asian trade as the dollar index steadied lower, following policy decisions by Bank of Japan and ahead of US housing data. 

As of 06:46 GMT, silver futures due in December rose 0.46% to $14.25 an ounce, while the dollar index slipped 0.13% to 94.52 against a basket of major rivals. 

Bank of Japan voted today to hold interest rates at minus 0.10% for the 16th meeting in a row as expected by market analysts, while introducing more flexibility in the monetary policy. 

Now markets await US housing starts data, expected with a 5.7% increase to 1.235 million units in August, while building permits are estimated with a 0.5% increase to 1.310 million. 

Yesterday, the White House announced new 10% tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, to be increased to 25%, after the US already imposed 25% tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese imports, with China retaliating with 5-10% tariffs on $60 billion worth of US products. 

President Donald Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on $267 billion worth of Chinese imports if Beijing retaliated to the latest ones. 

US trade secretary Wilbur Ross said China "is out of bullets" to retaliate against US tariffs, noting that the measures are intended to change Chinese behavior, with close studying to guarantee limited increases to inflation. 

China filed another complaint against the US to the World Trade Organization, which isn't the first time China has done such a move. 

Euro tilted higher in Asian trade against the greenback ahead of European trade and US housing data. 

As of 06:39 GMT, EUR/USD rose 0.15% to 1.1684, with an intraday high at 1.1685, and a low at 1.1656. 

Investors await current account trade data for the euro zone, expected with a reduced surplus at €22.4 billion in July, compared to €23.5 billion in June. 

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is scheduled to speak about the future of economic policy in the euro area at a conference hosted by the Jacques Delors Institute, Bertelsmann Stiftung, and the Hertie School of Governance, in Berlin today. 

Markets also await US housing starts data, expected with a 5.7% increase to 1.235 million units in August, while building permits are estimated with a 0.5% increase to 1.310 million.