The Japanese yen was flat against most major currencies today, though fell versus the Swiss franc. The trading was somewhat directionless on Wednesday as traders were waiting for a monetary policy announcement from the Federal Reserve.
Japan’s Ministry of Finance reported that the trade balance deficit widened from ¥0.17 trillion in April to ¥0.61 trillion in May as exports fell, while imports increased. Still, it was a smaller gap than ¥0.80 trillion predicted by analysts.
G20 meeting will be held next week in Japan. Trade wars will likely be a major topic for discussion during the gathering. Japan’s vice finance minister Masatsugu Asakawa said that his country will not take sides in the conflict between the United States and China:
Japan won’t take sides on US-China trade friction, our stance is to not take steps that violate WTO rules.
The Bank of Japan will make a monetary policy announcement after the meeting tomorrow. No changes to the policy are expected.
USD/JPY was about flat at 108.40 as of 9:53 GMT today. EUR/JPY was little changed as well, trading at 121.41. At the same time, CHF/JPY rose from 108.40 to 108.55.
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