News

Yen Gains Slightly after BoJ
The yen strengthened slightly to 110.1 per USD after the Bank of Japan announced a new initiative for providing funds for bank lending to climate-friendly businesses, while extending by six months the deadline for its pandemic-relief support and keeping its ultraeasy monetary policy stance. Still, the yen remains close to 2-month lows of 110.8 touched early in the month, amid a general dollar strength after the Fed adopted a more hawkish tone. Meanwhile, the Japanese government lifted the coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo and eight other regions while keeping some restrictions amid concerns about a surge in infections with a little more than a month until the Tokyo Olympics.
Published on 2021-06-18

Japanese Yen Hits 10-Week Low
The Japanese yen depreciated to its lowest level against the dollar in over two months, testing the 110.50 area for the first time since April 6th as hawkish comments from the Fed sparked bullish bets in the greenback. The Fed sharply raised its forecasts for inflation this year and brought forward the time frame on when it will hike interest rates. This change in outlook came to benefit investors who expect that Jay Powell and his rate-setting colleagues will need to think about scaling back quantitative easing to prevent the US economy from overheating. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan announced earlier this week that will extend its pandemic-relief programs to support a fragile economic recovery.
Published on 2021-06-16

Japanese Yen Trades Near 2-Week Lows
The Japanese Yen was around 110 against the US Dollar on Wednesday, refreshing 2-week lows touched in the previous session as Bank of Japan announced earlier this week that will extend its pandemic-relief programmes to support a fragile economic recovery. In addition, investors remained cautious ahead of the FOMC outcome as the rising price pressures could alter the Fed’s monetary policy stance. Domestically, Japan has extended a COVID-19 state of emergency in Tokyo and nine other regions until June 19th, five weeks before the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics are due to start.
Published on 2021-06-16

USD/JPY Eyes June Peak
The USD/JPY pair has broken above 110, extending its upward momentum to levels not seen since June 6th, as US Treasury yields recovered ahead of the Fed's two-day June meeting that will provide clues about the path of crisis-era stimulus. Domestically, Japan has extended a COVID-19 state of emergency in Tokyo and nine other regions until June 19th, five weeks before the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics are due to start.
Published on 2021-06-15

USDJPY traded above 110
The USD/JPY pair broke above 110 on Monday, extending its upward momentum to levels not seen since June 6th.
Published on 2021-06-14

Japanese Yen Trades at 8-Week Lows
The Japanese Yen added 0.101 points or 0.09% to 110.166 on Friday, trading at 8-week lows as strong US data pushed the Greenback to 3-week highs. Local 10-year bond yields were at 0.086% while US 10-year rates lifted to 1.627%. In the US, the ADP report showed US companies added the most jobs in 11 months, well above forecasts, while initial jobless claims fell more than expected and services PMIs pointed to record growth in the services sector. On the coronavirus front, the Japanese government last Friday extended the COVID-19 state of emergency in Tokyo, Osaka and seven other prefectures last week. In local data, household spending surged 13% in real terms from a year earlier in April, the steepest increase on record. Earlier in the week, the au Jibun Bank Japan Services PMI was revised upward to 46.5 in May from a preliminary reading of 45.7 and compared with a final 49.5 in April.
Published on 2021-06-04

Japanese Yen Hits 7-Week Lows
The Japanese Yen fell 0.141 points or 0.13% to 109.894 against the US Dollar on Friday, trading at 7-week lows following news that the Japanese government is set Friday to extend the COVID-19 state of emergency covering Tokyo and eight other prefectures for three weeks until June 20 as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga noted that the situation remains highly unpredictable. Local 10-year bond yields were at 0.08% while US rates held at 1.622%. Japan’s expected extension of emergency curbs also heightens the chance the central bank will extend fiscal stimulus measures. Among local data, Japan’s jobless rate rose to 2.8% in April from an 11-month low of 2.6% a month earlier and above consensus of 2.7%, while core consumer prices in Tokyo fell 0.2% in May from a year earlier
Published on 2021-05-28

Japanese Yen Hits 7-Week Lows
The Japanese Yen fell 0.156 points or 0.14% to 109.905 on Friday, trading at 7-week lows following news that the Japanese government is set Friday to extend the COVID-19 state of emergency covering Tokyo and eight other prefectures for three weeks until June 20 as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga noted that the situation remains highly unpredictable. Local 10-year bond yields were at 0.08% while US rates held at 1.613%. Among local data, the unemployment rate ticked higher to 2.8% from an 11-month low of 2.6% last month, while the Tokyo CPI increased to 101.70 points in May from 101.40 points in April of 2021.
Published on 2021-05-28

Japanese Yen Hits 6-Week Low
The Japanese yen depreciated to its lowest level against the dollar in over a month, testing the 110 level for the first time since April 6th, as a general risk appetite spooked investors away from safe-haven currencies. Better-than-expected jobs data and news that US President Biden will seek a massive $6 trillion in federal spending for the 2022 fiscal year reinforced a positive narrative of economic strength and drove equities and bonds higher.
Published on 2021-05-27

Yen Edges Up as Dollar Extends Losses
The Japanese Yen edged up to 108.7 per USD on Tuesday amid a general dollar weakness as inflation fears apparently ease and investors acknowledge central banks and specially the Fed will not tight monetary policy soon. Meanwhile, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said in prepared remarks for the MES Conference Hosted by the Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies that “We are beginning to see the light at the end of this pandemic tunnel, but the light does not clearly reveal the shape of the society and economy we are approaching”.
Published on 2021-05-25

Japanese Yen Lifts
The Japanese Yen added 0.156 points or 0.14% to 108.754 against the US Dollar on Monday. The Greenback eased against most of its peers as risk sentiment improved after last week’s data showed strong comeback by the services sector both in the US and Europe as businesses reopened following prolonged lockdown and benefited from a global demand recovery. Local 10-year bond yields were at 0.082% while US 10-year rates were at 1.618%. Meantime, traders continue to monitor a volatile slump in cryptocurrencies due to stricter regulation in Chinese markets, while concerns linger that the post-pandemic recovery could stoke price pressures and force a pullback in extraordinary central bank support. Traders now look toward the release of US consumer prices later in the week, along with the 2nd estimate Q1 US GDP and President Biden's FY2022 budget.
Published on 2021-05-24

Japanese Yen Lifts 0.47% for the Week
The Japanese Yen was little changed at 108.728 against the US Dollar on Friday, lifting 0.47% for the week as the Yen attracted safe-haven bids amid accelerating local infection rates of the novel coronavirus. The Japanese government is set to decide to add Okinawa to areas under a COVID-19 state of emergency as infections in the southern island prefecture surge. In local data, consumer prices declined by 0.4% on-year in April 2021, the 7th straight month of fall, as a resurgence of COVID-19 cases weighed on household spending. Meantme, the au Jibun Bank Japan Services PMI declined to 45.7 in May, the 16th straight month of contraction and the steepest pace since August 2020, while the Manufacturing PMI dropped to 52.5, the lowest reading since February.
Published on 2021-05-21

Japanese Yen Lifts Slightly
The Japanese Yen added 0.151 points or 0.14% to 19.185 against the US Dollar on Monday as tougher measures to combat the novel coronavirus commenced in six prefectures in Japan over the weekend amid surging infection rates, with three coming under an expanded state of emergency and another three under a quasi-emergency. The move comes as coronavirus cases have been on the rise nationwide in recent weeks, with the daily number of new infections topping 6,000 for the fifth straight day on Saturday. COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms also hit another all-time high of 1,231 the same day. Local 10-year bond yields eased to 0.079% while US 10-year rates were at 1.62%. On the data front, producer prices in Japan rose by 3.6% yoy in April, the second straight month of increase and the highest since September 2014.
Published on 2021-05-17

Japanese Yen Trades at 5-Week Lows
The Japanese Yen fell 0.064 points or 0.06% in early deals on Thursday, trading at fresh 5-week lows as traders moved into the Greenback amid rising inflation, while the nation’s accelerating coronavirus infection rates also dampened sentiment for the Yen. The US annual inflation rate jumped to 4.2%, the highest in 13 years and well above forecasts of 3.6%, while the monthly gauge rose 0.8%, the most since 2009, and the monthly core inflation increased to 0.9%, the highest since 1996. On the coronavirus front, the number of COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms in Japan hit a fresh record of 1189, the health ministry said Wednesday, as the country extended and expanded the scope of a coronavirus emergency. Meantime, in the BoJ April policy meeting, policymakers warned of uncertainties over the country’s economic recovery as pandemic curbs continue to hurt service consumption.
Published on 2021-05-13

Japanese Yen Hits 4-Week Low
The USD/JPY pair broke above 109.7 on Wednesday, extending its upward momentum to levels not seen since April 13th as a reading of US inflation revealed the biggest monthly increase in thirteen years, leading to a rise in US Treasury yields and the dollar. This hot CPI number also fuelled bets of potential tapering of the Federal Reserve’s bond-buying before the year’s end, paving the way for an interest rate hike in 2023. Japan 10-year bond yields were steady at 0.082% while those in the US jumped to 1.693%.
Published on 2021-05-12

Japanese Yen Weakens
The Japanese Yen fell 0.442 points or 0.41% to 108.981 against the US Dollar on Monday. Sentiment for the Yen slipped as Japan's confirmed daily coronavirus infections topped 6,000 for the third straight day on Sunday, while the number of patients with severe symptoms rose to a record 1,144, amid the spread of more contagious variants. Local 10-year bond yields fell to 0.081% while US-10 year rates were at 1.593%. In the US, Nonfarm payrolls increased by 266K on Friday, well below forecasts of nearly one million, while the unemployment rate rose to 6.1%. Ahead in the week, market participants will be monitoring US inflation rate, retail sales and Michigan consumer sentiment data.
Published on 2021-05-10

Japanese Yen Trades Near 3-Week Lows
The Japanese Yen fell 0.075 points or 0.07% to 109.262 on Thursday, trading near 3-week lows as the Greenback was bid after inflation fears intensified following Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s comments that the Fed may have to raise rates to prevent the US economy from overheating, only to backtrack on her remarks later in the session. Local 10-year bond yields were at 0.085%, while US 10-year rates were at 1.582% as recent data showed the US private sector hired 742 thousand workers in April, the most since September last year while the US services sector activity growth eased from an all-time high likely restrained by shortages of inputs. In local news, minutes from the BoJ’s monetary policy meeting showed that members concurred that the economy had picked up as a trend, although it remained in a severe situation due to the impact of COVID-19 at home and abroad.
Published on 2021-05-06

Japanese Yen Trades Near 3-Week Lows
The Japanese Yen fell 0.142 points or 0.12% to 109.427 against the US Dollar on Wednesday, trading near 3-week lows. The Greenback was bid as inflation fears intensified after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen mentioned that the Fed may have to raise rates to prevent the US economy from overheating, only to backtrack on her remarks later in the session. On the coronavirus front, Japan recorded 4199 new cases Tuesday as Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura indicated he would ask the central government to extend the current COVID-19 state of emergency in the western Japan metropolis beyond its May 11 end date as infection rates showed no significant decrease. Meantime, major markets in Japan, China and South Korea remain closed for a public holiday.
Published on 2021-05-05

Japanese Yen Trades Near 3-Week Lows
The Japanese Yen fell 0.393 points or 0.36% to 109.441 against the US Dollar on Tuesday, trading near 3-week lows as Japan reported 1,084 COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms Monday, hitting an all-time high for the 2nd straight day and stoking fears of further strains on health care systems. Meantime, the Greenback was bid after data from the US showed that manufacturing growth unexpectedly slowed in April, while a report on construction spending also rose less than estimated. In last week’s data, Japan’s unemployment rate fell to 2.6% in March, the lowest since April 2020. The au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing PMI rose to 53.6 in April 2021, the 3rd straight month of growth and the strongest pace since April 2018. Finally, industrial production unexpectedly rose by 2.2% on-month in March, easily beating market estimates of a 2% fall.
Published on 2021-05-04

Japanese Yen Extends 3-Week Lows
The Japanese Yen fell 0.289 points or 0.27% to 109.576 on Monday, driven to 3-week lows by a dovish outlook by the Bank of Japan last week, while stronger-than-expected US economic data and worries over rising COVID-19 cases also sapped sentiment for the Yen. On the coronavirus front, the country reported 5,900 new COVID-19 cases as Tokyo and the western prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo remain under a state of emergency through May 11, covering the Golden Week holiday period. In local data, the au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing PMI rose to 53.6 in April, the 3rd straight month of growth and the strongest since April 2018, while the consumer confidence index decreased by 1.4 points from the previous month to 34.7. Industrial production also unexpectedly rose by 2.2% on-month in March, easily beating market estimates of a 2% fall. Meantime, the Japanese stock market remains closed for a public holiday.
Published on 2021-05-03