FOREX-Dollar steadies, yen choppy after BOJ stands pat on rates

By Rae Wee

SINGAPORE, June 17 (Reuters) - The dollar firmed slightly on Tuesday while the yen swung between losses and gains after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) left rates unchanged and decided to slow the pace of its balance sheet drawdown next year.

The BOJ maintained short-term interest rates at 0.5% as expected at the conclusion of its two-day monetary policy meeting and laid out a new bond taper plan for fiscal 2026.

The yen JPY=EBS was choppy in the aftermath and was last slightly higher at 144.70 per dollar, with the focus now on comments at a post-meeting press conference by BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda later in the day.

"Attention will be on what Governor Ueda says at his press conference. Markets will be particularly interested in how he categorises the inflation trends in Japan, especially in the context of heightened trade tensions," said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump did not reach a tariff agreement.

In the broader market, the dollar held to its gains in a general risk-off move as tensions in the Middle East weighed on sentiment.

The White House said on Monday that Donald Trump is leaving the Group of Seven summit in Canada a day early due to the situation in the Middle East, as the president has requested that the national security council be prepared in the situation room.

Trump had earlier urged everyone to immediately evacuate Tehran, and reiterated that Iran should have signed a nuclear deal with the United States.

The risk-sensitive Australian dollar AUD=D3 was up 0.09% at $0.6530, after falling earlier in the session. The New Zealand dollar NZD=D3 traded 0.14% higher at $0.6068.

Against a basket of currencies, the dollar =USD was steady at 98.15.

"The developments out of the Middle East over the past few days threaten regional stability gravely," said analysts at DBS in a note.

"The long-simmering Israel-Iran conflict reaching a major chapter should add to market stress, but so far, the view is global spillover risks are manageable."

Still, overall moves in the currency market were largely subdued, as investors also looked ahead to a slew of central bank decisions later in the week to guide the next move in markets.

The Federal Reserve's policy decision on Wednesday takes centre stage. Expectations are for the central bank to keep rates on hold, though focus will be on any guidance regarding the rate outlook. 0#USDIRPR

"Markets anticipate two Fed rate cuts this year, but I expect zero," said Ronald Temple, chief market strategist at Lazard.

"Investors will carefully examine the Summary of Economic Projections for signs of potential policy easing with the dot plot and macro forecasts being focal points. I expect another shift in the dot plot toward fewer rate cuts."

Elsewhere, the euro EUR=EBS was little changed at $1.1561, while sterling GBP=D3 last bought $1.3574.

Trump signed an agreement on Monday formally lowering some tariffs on imports from Britain as the countries continue working toward a formal trade deal.