Yen Slips as Tariff Concern Fans Demand for Dollars
The yen edged lower against all Group-of-10 peers amid concern that US tariffs may delay potential Bank of Japan interest-rate hikes.
USD/JPY gains 0.1% to 149.81 after touching 150.30 intraday. Spot was bought before the Tokyo fix after US President Donald Trump’s tariff comments and then on benchmark demand for the dollar, traders said.
Trump said tariffs scheduled to hit Canada and Mexico next month were “on time” and “moving along very rapidly” following an initial delay.
“Japanese markets returned from their long weekend to face a USD finding renewed support from US tariff headlines,” said Sean Callow, senior FX analyst at ITC Markets.
“While the immediate threat is to Canada and Mexico, Japan is one of the most vulnerable trading partners as the US administration weighs up so-called reciprocal tariffs, especially on autos.”
“Also, while Japan’s domestic inflation pulse continues to make the case for further tightening, a deteriorating global trade outlook could delay the next move.”
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0.1% after rising in the last two sessions.
Treasury yields eased across the curve with 10-year down three basis points to 4.37%.
AUD/USD inched up 0.1% to 0.6354.
Some information comes from FX traders familiar with the transactions who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly.
Source: Bloomberg
