Precise Investors Editorial Team
The yen was last 0.1% firmer at 154.01 yen per dollar, rising from its lowest level in around nine months
The yen firmed on Friday after Japan’s new finance minister said the government has been monitoring foreign exchange movements with a high sense of urgency.
The yen was last 0.1% firmer at 154.01 yen per dollar, rising from its lowest level in around nine months, after government data on Friday showed core consumer prices in Tokyo increased 2.8% in October from a year earlier.
The warmed-than-expected figures indicated inflation remains above target in the Japanese capital, complicating the Bank of Japan’s path after it held interest rates steady on Thursday.
We’re getting to a point where the yen weakness is becoming something of a focus for politicians, said Sim Moh Siong, currency strategist at Bank of Singapore.
The yen has shed 4% against the U.S. currency in the past month, its worst monthly performance since July. It is also near a record low against the euro.
The U.S. dollar held its ground in Asia on Friday after hitting a three-month high on Thursday, as traders processed mixed signals from this week’s central bank decisions, tech sector earnings and a tentative China-U.S. tariff truce.
The dollar index held steady at 99.469 after U.S. stock market losses spooked global markets on Thursday.
Risk aversion favours the dollar, said Rodrigo Catril, currency strategist at National Australia Bank in Sydney.
The Fed isn’t sure whether it will be cutting again, he added. And yen weakness coming from what the BOJ is doing isn’t helping.
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Thursday she would not stand by remarks she made in March suggesting the yen’s real value is near 120-130 per dollar, citing her current position as minister overseeing currency policy.
Comments (0)
Average Rating: No ratings yet/5 (0 reviews)
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!