Yen Strengthens After BOJ Delivers Hawkish Surprise
The yen strengthens against other G-10 and Asian currencies after the Bank of Japan delivered a hawkish surprise, analysts say. While the BOJ left rates unchanged as expected, the central bank announced the start of unwinding oversized ETF and REIT holdings, StoneX's Matt Simpson says in commentary.
"This marks a significant and symbolic step away from the ultra-loose policies of the Abenomics era," the senior market analyst says. "The key takeaway is that the BOJ has officially begun the process of reducing its unconventional asset holdings," he says. This may also be a precursor to a BOJ rate increase in October, Simpson adds. USD/JPY falls 0.3% to 147.49; EUR/JPY is down 0.4% at 173.68.
Source: Bloomberg.com
