For a third consecutive day, the Japanese Yen continued to weaken, however it is trading very near to an 18-month high. FX traders remain unconvinced that the Bank of Japan is on the verge of intervening in the Yen’s rise, despite recent rhetoric to the contrary. In the past 6 months, the Yen has risen more than 15% versus the U.S. Dollar, largely amid global uncertainty and market turbulence but also the Federal Reserve’s failure to push expected rate hikes through. Yesterday, the Japanese Prime Minister cautioned investors, stating that the government would take action on the Yen which was being closely monitored. Generally, investors and analysts see the USD/JPY pair having to near the 100 level for an intervention to be realized.
As reported at 10:48 am (BST) in London, the USD/JPY pair was trading at 107.3650 Yen, up 0.35%; the pair has ranged from 106.8700 Yen to 107.4050 Yen in today’s trade. The EUR/JPY, however, is lower at 122.7685 Yen, down 0.11%; the pair’s daily trading band was 122.6917 Yen at the low end and 123.1372 Yen at the high.
Aussie Listed by Upbeat Retail Sales Data
In Australia, unexpectedly upbeat economic data helped to push the Aussie Dollar higher against the greenback, with the AUD/USD pair trading at $0.7476, a gain of 0.23%; the pair ranged from $0.7465 to $0.7514 in today’s trade. Data showed that retail sales improved in March, rising to 0.4% (month-over-month) from an upwardly revised 0.1% in February. Analysts had been forecasting a rise to 0.3%. Tomorrow, the Reserve Bank of Australia will be issuing its monetary policy statement.