The Japanese yen remained unmoved by the release of industrial production data today. The currency traded mostly sideways yesterday, though it fell together with its major counterparts versus the US dollar.
Japanese industrial production sank 3.3 percent in June from May, the drop being far bigger than the predicted 1.0 percent. Yesterday’s reports were not good either. Retail sales fell 0.6 percent in June, and the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose by 0.2 percentage point to 3.7 percent.
The yen appears to be in a somewhat complex situation. On one hand, the rapidly worsening relations between Russia and the West spur risk aversion and demand for safer currencies, like the yen. On the other, poor domestic indicators prevent the currency from rallying. This explains the subdued movement of the yen.
USD/JPY traded near its opening level of 102.10 as of 4:29 GMT today after rising from 101.84 to 102.11 yesterday. EUR/JPY was at about 136.90, while GBP/JPY traded close to the opening of 173.01.
If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Japanese Yen,
feel free to post them using the commentary form below.