At the beginning of the session, the yen strengthened sharply after reports of an earthquake in Japan with a magnitude of 7.3 points, at 67 kilometers from the island of Honshu, Fukushima Prefecture, at 6 am local time. The authorities have warned of tsunami formation. A little later, there occurred aftershocks with a magnitude of 5.5.

Also, the Bank of Japan Chairman, Kuroda, stated once again that the Japanese economy is in a gradual recovery trend. He also said the BOJ will adjust policy as needed, and that the current interest rate policy is more stable and flexible. Mr. Kuroda said that he and the governing concil are closely monitoring the impact of loose monetary policy to market conditions for Japanese government bonds, but have not yet seen a sharp reduction in market liquidity.

EUR / USD: during the Asian session, the pair was trading in the $ 1.0625-50 range

GBP / USD: during the Asian session, the pair was trading in the $ 1.2480-10 range

USD / JPY: during the Asian session, the pair was trading in the Y110.25-90 range