Ella 
The Japanese yen (JPY) weakened following the release of Japan’s merchandise trade balance data on Wednesday. The report showed that the trade deficit increased to 462.5 billion yen in April, compared with the previous surplus of 387 billion yen. The market expected a deficit of 339.5 billion yen. The depreciation of the yen led to an increase in imports, which outweighed the gains from export growth.
Japan’s exports rose 8.3% year-on-year to 8,980.75 billion yen, posting growth for the fifth consecutive month but missing expectations of 11.1%. Imports also rose 8.3%, the strongest increase in 14 months, to a four-month peak of 9,443.26 billion yen. The increase reversed a revised 5.1% decline in March.
The U.S. dollar (USD) is trading higher ahead of the release of minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) May 1 meeting, scheduled for Wednesday. Rising U.S. Treasury yields provided support for the dollar.
