The Japanese yen remained broadly weaker against its most-traded rivals. While domestic releases were unfavorable to the currency, the major reason for the yen’s weakness was the market sentiment that favored riskier currencies, not safer ones.
The Bank of Japan delivered no surprises at today’s policy meeting, leaving the main interest rate at -0.1% and the target yield for 10-year Japanese government bonds at around 0%. The size of annual asset purchases remained at ¥80 trillion.
Japan’s trade balance deficit widened from ¥0.1 trillion in July to ¥0.19 trillion in August. Analysts had predicted a smaller increase to ¥0.14 trillion.
USD/JPY was little changed at 112.38 as of 8:19 GMT today. At the same time, EUR/JPY gained from 131.08 to 131.57, while GBP/JPY edged up from 147.58 to 147.87.
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