The Japanese yen continued its downfall this week as most market participants are certain that the Bank of Japan will ease its monetary policy further next week. The short bounce of the currency did not help it very much, though the yen managed to outperform the pound.
The Japanese government wants weaker yen and it looks like the BoJ is going to do everything possible to achieve that goal. For a brief time Japan’s currency rallied as Economy Minister Akira Amari suggested that a strong currency is not necessary negative for the economy. Yet later Amari said that his words were misinterpreted and he was not speaking about the current exchange rate.
The yen resumed its decline against most currencies and even worries about global economic growth did not help the currency much. The sterling was one of few losers to the Japanese currency as Britain has its share of problems that deter investors from the country’s currency.
USD/JPY climbed from 89.19 to 90.03 (the highest weekly close since June 2010) after falling to 87.78. EUR/JPY fell from 118.95 to 116.44, but rebounded to close at 119.92 — the strongest weekly close since April 2011. GBP/JPY fell from 143.78 to 142.92 after touching 144.77 — the highest rate since May 2010.
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