The Japanese Yen was broadly lower on Thursday, pushed there by improved sentiment among global equity investors. Speculation that the Japanese central bank is also considering measures to directly fund government spending is also impacting Yen demand. According to one media report, Ben Bernanke, the former head of the US Federal Reserve Bank, had raised the idea of “perpetual bonds” being issued by the Bank of Japan. In essence, perpetual bonds would be issue purposely and directly for funding government needs. That news pushed the US Dollar higher against the Yen, to a level not seen in several weeks.
As reported at 10:52 am (BST) in London, the USD/JPY was trading at 105.824 Yen, a gain of 1.39%; the pair ranged from a low of 103.961 Yen to a peak of 105.874 Yen in today’s trading. The EUR/JPY was also higher at 117.6632 Yen, up 1.66% with a session peak at 117.481 Yen and a low of 115.679 Yen.
Sterling Broadly Higher as BoE Decision Looms
The Pound Sterling had also made some headway against the US Dollar, the Euro and the Yen as markets await the latest Bank of England decision. The analysts’ consensus calls for a rate cut of 25 basis points to 0.25%, largely in an effort to counteract the impact of the upcoming Brexit which is expected to be a heavy blow to the UK economy. The GBP/USD is trading at $1.3226, up 0.66% while the EUR/GBP is down 0.46% at 0.8401 Pence.