The yen rallied in Asian trade on Monday against a basket of major rivals, moving against the dollar in a positive zone and approaching multi-week highs as the greenback continues to weaken.
The odds of a Japanese interest rate hike in July dropped following the Bank of Japan’s latest meeting, as traders now await more clues on inflation, wages, and unemployment in the world’s third largest economy.
The Price
The USD/JPY price fell 0.55% today to 143.80, with a session-high at 144.62.
The yen lost 0.2% on Friday against the greenback on profit-taking away from a two-week high at 143.75.
The yen rose 1% last week against the dollar, the second weekly profit in three weeks.
US Dollar
The US dollar index fell 0.2% on Monday on track for the sixth loss in a row, about to plumb three-year lows at 96.99 against a basket of major rivals.
The decline comes as investors grow more optimistic about future US trade deals, which could prompt Fed rate cuts this year.
Washington and Beijing are on the cusp of a tariffs agreement, while Canada scrapped a digital tax that caused an angry response by Trump.
Investors interpreted Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s last week Congressional testimony as leaning cautious, after saying that rate cuts are likely if inflation doesn’t rise this summer in response to tariffs.
Japanese Rates
The odds of a Bank of Japan’s 0.25% interest rate hike in July is still below 40%.
Now investors await more clues from Japan this week to form a more accurate prediction.
