Japanese yen is lower today as Forex traders look for high yielders as risk appetite improves. Indeed, risk appetite is the story as the Dow surges on holiday shopping news.
Black Friday was a huge retail success as consumers came out in force. On top of that, retailers are expected to get a boost as Cyber Monday sales are expected to break online shopping records. The Dow is up more than 300 points, and that is providing impetus for riskier assets.
As Forex traders focus on riskier assets, currencies like the Japanese yen and the US dollar are lower. Yen is dropping as traders prefer higher yielding currencies like the pound and the euro. Traders are feeling confident enough — for now — that the eurozone troubles that helped the yen strengthen last week are practically forgotten.
Additionally, recent implications that the Japanese could intervene in the Forex market to weaken the yen are also likely helping weakness. Vice Finance Minister Takehiko Nakao said that big gains by the yen are likely to bring officials into the Forex market to keep the yen weak. With car manufacturers reconsidering their Japanese operations, due to loss of currency advantage, Japanese leaders are interested in making sure the yen remains weak.
At 16:20 GMT USD/JPY is higher at 78.0340, up from the open at 77.5790. EUR/JPY is higher at 104.1935, up from the open at 103.3355. EUR/GBP is up to 121.3635 from the open at 120.1450.
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