The yen fell in Asian trade on Monday against a basket of major rivals, extending losses for the second straight session against the dollar as investors focus on buying up the greenback as a safe haven amid the Iran-Israel conflict.
Later today, the Bank of Japan will be convening and will issue its decisions tomorrow, expected to maintain interest rates unchanged at 0.5%, the highest since 2008.
The Price
The USD/JPY price rose 0.55% today to 144.75, with a session-low at 143.92.
The yen lost 0.4% on Friday, the first loss in three days away from a week high at 142.79.
The yen rose 0.5% last week against the dollar, marking the first profit in three weeks on haven demand amid mounting geopolitical tensions.
US Dollar
The US dollar rose 0.25% on Monday, maintaining the gains for the second session and recovering from a three-year nadir at 97.60 against a basket of major rivals.
Israel and Iran continued their mutual attacks with drones and missiles in a new escalation to tensions, triggering concerns of a wider conflict that could engulf other countries.
Israel continues to target Iran’s military facilities and infrastructure in Syria and inside Iran, with Iran responding with waves of drone and missile attacks on Israeli cities.
International powers have called for calm and de-escalation, with analysts expecting this exchange to be a new phase of the untraditional conflict between both sides.
BOJ
Later today, the Bank of Japan will convene to decide on policies, widely expected to maintain rates unchanged at 0.5%.
BOJ policymakers will discuss the risks of the US trade trade on Japan’s export-reliant economy, which will decide the timing of the next rate hike.
Concerns about a global recession due to Trump’s tariffs could eventually affect wages and prices data, which recently showed signs of strong recovery.
