The Japanese yen traded broadly in red today as the market sentiment favored riskier currencies, not safer ones. Japan’s domestic macroeconomic data was mixed, giving the currency no direction.
On the positive side, the Tokyo core Consumer Price Index rose 1.3% in April from a year ago, while analysts had expected the same 1.1% rate of growth as in March. Retail sales climbed 1.0% in March, year-on-year, exceeding the consensus forecast of a 0.8% increase. Housing starts climbed 10.0% in March from the same month a year ago, far more than specialists had expected — 5.6%.
On the negative side, the unemployment rate rose from 2.3% in February to 2.5% in March, exceeding the forecast figure of 2.4%. Industrial production contracted 0.9% in March from the previous month on a seasonally adjusted basis, surprising market participants who were expecting a 0.1% increase.
USD/JPY was little changed at 111.67 as of 13:28 GMT today after rallying to the session high of 112.03 earlier. EUR/JPY edged up from 124.34 to 124.55, bouncing from the daily low of 124.08. GBP/JPY rose from 143.99 to 144.23.
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Japan’s Macroeconomic Data Mixed, Yen in Red
