Yen Slips as CPI Beat Fails to Shift BOJ Pricing: Inside G-10
The yen edged lower as stronger-than-expected Japanese inflation data failed to significantly boost the chances of an interest-rate increase.
USD/JPY gained as much as 0.3% to 149.19 as overnight-indexed swaps signaled a 55% chance of a Bank of Japan rate hike by June, compared with 50% on Thursday
Japan’s consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 3.0% from a year ago in February, decelerating from a 3.2% pace in January, but still beating the 2.9% median forecast in a Bloomberg survey
“Today’s data may see the Board almost certainly revise up forecasts at its next meeting in May, however that alone may not necessarily result in another rate hike,” Marcel Thieliant, head of Asia-Pacific at Capital Economics, writes in a note
Notes that BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda has said uncertainty about US trade policy has rapidly increased
“We suspect the Bank will wait for the dust to settle and will only hike rates at its July meeting,” Thieliant said
Source: Bloomberg
