Expectations High for More BOJ Easing

The Japanese Yen edged lower against its two main rivals, the U.S. Dollar and the common currency Euro, as market players await a policy decision from the Bank of Japan which is due in a short while. Analysts don’t expect to see any major movement from the central bank today, but believe that the BOJ could hint at their intent to ease yet again if Japan’s economic outlook deteriorates further. Earlier, preliminary 4th GDP data for Japan was released and it showed that the world’s third largest economy shrank for the third consecutive quarter to -0.4% on an annualized basis, well off the consensus call of a rise to 0.5% from -3.8%.

In the longer term, investors may sit on the sidelines until the G20 meeting draws to a close, with speculation high that global policy makers will attempt to address the foreign exchange manipulation of the various central banks.

As reported at 2:11 p.m. (JST) in Japan, the USD/JPY pair was trading at 93.47 Yen, a gain of 0.2% from late trading in New York, and edging closer to Monday’s 33-month peak of 94.465 Yen. The EUR/JPY pair was also higher by 0.2%, trading at 125.74 Yen, and approaching 127.71 Yen which was a 34-month high struck only last week.