The Japanese yen weakened today against other most-traded currencies at the early Asian session ahead of the Bank of Japan monetary policy announcement. For now, losses are not big and are not enough to erase yesterday’s gains.
The BoJ will announce its policy decision later today. While market participants are not expecting changes to the existing policy, they are still nervous as BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda signaled that he will not hesitate to act in case Japan’s economy needs more stimulus. He said at the Jackson Hole Symposium last month:
We will continue our current monetary policy, but if thereâs anything which could derail our course toward the 2 percent inflation target, we will not hesitate to change or adjust our policy.
The yen’s softness can be also explained by the risk-positive market sentiment. Talks about ceasefire between Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels in the eastern parts of the country improved the sentiment among Forex traders, reducing need for the perceived safety of the yen.
USD/JPY rose from 104.79 to 104.87 as of 1:14 GMT today. EUR/JPY ticked up from 137.79 to 137.88, and GBP/JPY advanced from 172.49 to 172.64.
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