The yen rallied on Friday against a basket of major rivals, extending the gains for the third straight session against the dollar and hitting a week on haven demand after Israel launched air strikes against Iran.
The Bank of Japan is convening next week to discuss latest economic policies, with a less than 50% chance of a 0.25% rate hike.
The Price
The USD/JPY price fell 0.5% today to 142.79 yen per dollar, a week low, with a session-high at 143.52.
The yen rose 0.75% on Thursday against the dollar, marking the second profit in a row on haven demand following downbeat US producer prices data.
Weekly Trades
The yen is up 1.4% so far this week against the dollar, on track for the first weekly profit in three weeks.
Israel’s Strike Against Iran
Israel launched a heavy military operation against Iran, targeting nuclear facilities and ballistic missile factories and military leaders.
The Israeli army said the operation aims at preventing Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon and described it as the start of a long-term military operation, with Israel’s air space closed in preparation for Iranian responses.
US officials asserted that America hasn’t participated or supported the operation.
The US administration started to transport some of its personnel from several Middle Eastern countries and warned from heightened security risks, while spreading additional air defense systems to protect US military bases in the region.
Japanese Rates
The Bank of Japan is meeting on June 16-17 to discuss the latest economic developments and suitable policies.
Following recent GDP growth data, the odds of a Bank of Japan 0.25% interest rate hike in June rose from 40% to 45%.
Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida said the bank will continue to raise interest rates if the economy recovers from the negative impact of US tariffs, however he still cautioned that the economic outlook remains highly uncertain.
Now traders await more Japanese data on inflation, unemployment, and wages to gather additional clues.
