Japanese Yen Looks Vulnerable Against USD, Awaits Fresh Impetus from US CPI
The Japanese Yen (JPY) remained on the back foot against its American rival and hit a fresh low since July 30 during the Asian session on Wednesday, albeit managing to defend the psychological 155.00 level. Growing market confidence that the Japanese political landscape could make it difficult for the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to raise interest rates again continued weighing on the JPY.
Meanwhile, US President-elect Donald Trump’s inflation rate, which could have a significant impact on Japanese exports, could limit the scope for the Federal Reserve (Fed) to cut interest rates. This remained supportive of a pickup in the US Treasury bond yields and turned out to be another factor undermining the lower-yielding JPY, though intervention concerns held market participants back from placing fresh bets.
Additionally, a softer risk tone offered some support to the safe-haven JPY. The US Dollar (USD), on the other hand, was seen consolidating its recent strong gains to over six-month highs and helped cap gains for the USD/JPY pair. Traders also appeared reluctant to place aggressive directional bets ahead of the release of US consumer inflation figures, due later on Wednesday.
Source: FXSreet
