After the Japanese central bank failed to ease further, despite a stagnating economy, the Japanese Yen surged versus the US Dollar, gaining better than 2% to strike the strong price in nearly 24 months. The BOJ Governor has cautioned investors, however, that the bank will take whatever action it deems necessary in order to reach its inflation target which is set at 2%. The Yen also touched on multi-year peaks versus the Pound Sterling and the common currency Euro. As a safe haven currency, the Yen has seen higher demand than usual, especially as it relates to the Pound given the uncertainty of a possible Brexit. Against the Dollar, the Yen is gaining ground now that the Fed has dismissed any speculation of an imminent rate increase.
As reported at 10:41 am (BST) in London, the USD/JPY was down by 1.62% to trade at 104.2750 Yen; the pair has ranged from 103.5450 Yen to 105.9700 Yen. The EUR/JPY is also lower for the Euro at 117.3380 Yen, a loss of 1.65%. Meanwhile, the GBP/JPY is down 1.82% at 147.7316 Yen.
SNB Keeps Rates Unchanged
The Swiss National Bank also had a rate decision today, and like the Bank of Japan, held interest rates at existing levels, largely as expected. With next week’s referendum in the UK likely to result in increased demand for safe haven currencies, the Governor of the SNB said that they would move if necessary and would be watching the outcome of the voting closely. The EUR/CHF was trading at 1.0823 Swiss Francs, down 0.10%; the pair has ranged from 1.0802 to 1.0838 Swiss Francs.