The Japanese yen fell against the US dollar after the release of disappointing manufacturing PMI data. The yen also dropped against commodity currencies as prices for crude oil rallied.
The Nikkei Flash Japan Manufacturing PMI dropped from 52.3 in January to 50.2 in February, far below the predicted figure of 52.0. The report said:
Data suggests that the fall in total new work intakes was caused primarily by a contraction in international demand, with new exports declining at the sharpest rate in three years.
The data hurt the yen, and the currency fell even further as the rally of crude oil prices made investors more willing to risk, limiting demand for safe currencies.
USD/JPY gained from 112.56 to 113.33 as of 11:29 GMT today. AUD/JPY rose 1.2% from 80.52 to 81.46.
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