Japanese yen has, once again, been strengthening a bit. However, the Bank of Japan‘s new lending program, unveiled last week, seems to be having at least some effect, although the future effect is likely to be a little bit greater.
Right now, the yen is strengthening against the US dollar and the UK pound. There is a bit of uncertainty in the markets right now. In the United States, the focus is on the tight Presidential Election race between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. In the United Kingdom, the news that housing prices dropped in October is weighing a bit on the pound.
Euro was showing weakness against the yen a little bit earlier today, but has since regained some of that ground, and is now stronger. The BOJ’s new program is likely to help weaken the yen further going forward. Japanese official Hideo Hayakawa pointed out that the Japanese government no longer sees a weak yen as a main object, but that the loans are meant to help stimulate the languishing Japanese economy.
For now, the yen is likely to show some weakness — in spite of the short-term strength being seen against some currencies right now.
At 14:38 GMT USD/JPY is down to 80.2500 from the open at 80.2875. EUR/JPY is higher, up to 102.8150 from the open at 102.7350. GBP/JPY is down to 128.2190 from the open at 128.2850.
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