The Japanese yen fell in Asian trade on Friday against a basket of major rivals, trading near a week low against the dollar and on track for a weekly loss amid growing concerns by the Bank of Japan towards mounting outside risks.
The BOJ is meeting next week to discuss monetary policies, expected to hold interest rates unchanged.
The Price
The USD/JPY rose 0.55% to 148.59 yen per dollar, with a session-low at 147.69 yen.
The yen rose 0.3% on Wednesday against the dollar, the first profit in three days away from a week low at 149.19.
Weekly Trades
The yen is down 0.5% so far this week against the dollar on track for the second weekly loss in the past three weeks.
BOJ
The Bank of Japan is convening next week to discuss suitable monetary policies, widely expected to hold rates steady at 0.5%.
BOJ policymakers are expected to discuss the risks of the mounting US trade war on the export-oriented Japanese economy, which will determine the timing of the next rate hike.
Concerns about a global recession due to Donald Trump’s trade wars are casting shadows on Japanese wages and inflation data, which showed progress towards the 2% BOJ target.
As investors expect no change in policies next week, the markets will be focused on BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda post-meeting remarks, looking for clues about the potential impact of the worsening global outlook on the path ahead of Japanese interest rates.
A BOJ source told Reuters that the central bank believes the Japanese economy is on the right track but outside risks have increased, which might impact the timing of the next rate hike.
