By Gina Lee

Investing.com – The dollar was down on Wednesday morning in Asia as hopes for a breakthrough in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine gave the euro a boost. The Japanese yen has stabilized despite being under increasing pressure. This is despite the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ), efforts to reduce bond yields.

This chart tracks the greenback’s performance against other currencies and is at 0.32% down to 98.125 as of 11:28PM ET (3:28 GMT).

This pair fell 1.09% to 121.55. Data earlier in the day revealed that February 2022 saw a 0.8% decline in retail sales.

Both the pair edged up by 0.13% at 0.7516, and was 0.45% higher at 0.6964.

Both the pair declined 0.06%, to 6.3604, while they gained 0.16%, to 1.3106.

Recent fears of economic collapse from Ukraine’s war have seen the euro battered. Fears of war spreading west led to the euro hitting a high of $1.1137 in two weeks overnight. It then settled back at $1.1091 after Asian trading. The currency also reached a 3-month peak of 84.81 pennies against the pound while the Russian ruble climbed to an all-time high of 83.50 per dollar.

In Tuesday’s face-to-face talks in Istanbul, Russia pledged to scale down military operations around the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, while Ukraine proposed adopting a neutral status. But, the U.S. reaffirmed the danger to Kyiv, and poured cold water on any optimism about a resolution to the ongoing war, which began on February 24th with Russian invasion.

Joe Capurso, strategist for Reuters said that “at least the two parties are talking.”

He stated that the “tender good news” about war would benefit the euro more than any currency due to Europe’s closeness to conflict and dependence on Russian energy.

The risk-sensitive currencies, including New Zealand and Australian dollars, were boosted by the increased risk appetite. The Antipodean currencies remained stable just below the peak levels in Asian trading. Meanwhile, South Korean won saw its most successful session in 2 years, despite being battered by recent oil price surges.

The yen has been struggling to find a floor around 123 against the dollar. It is now on course for its worst month ever since November 2016. As the Japanese central bank continues to be dovish, the yen lost approximately 7% against the dollar.

BOJ has fulfilled its promise of unlimited bond buying to maintain 10-year yields under its 0.25% ceiling. They also increased purchases in both directions. The 10-year Japanese government bond yield fell slightly to 0.225% as a result of these efforts.

Today, the risk for USD/JPY is still tipped towards the upside. Sophia Ng, a MUFG Bank analyst, said that the 125 level will remain a strong resistance to topside movements.”