As the Bank of Japan opted to keep fiscal policy unchanged at its monthly policy meeting, and issued positive comments regarding the pace of economic recovery in Japan, the Yen retained and extended earlier gains against the US Dollar, but was relatively unchanged against the Pound.
The Japanese Yen exchange rate was in the region of 149.9050 Yen to one British Pound as of 10:00 am GMT
During the North American session the Yen was bolstered by the Federal Reserve’s unexpectedly dovish stance toward US quantitative easing.
With the US Dollar broadly softening the safe-haven Yen was able to gain.
However, the Pound was supported by speculation that its recent drop has been excessive.
The Yen posted modest advances against several of its peers but was also little changed against the Euro.
The GBP/JPY exchange rate hit a high of 151.6670
Following the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting Governor Haruhiko Kuroda asserted: ‘We believe we have taken sufficient measures to achieve the price stability target of 2 per cent in a time horizon of two years. I’m confident we can achieve the target, although we may need to address upside and downside risks.’
The BOJ also used the provocative term ‘recovery’ in its statement for the first time since the beginning of 2011, although some forecasts for economic growth were trimmed. The central bank predicted that inflation will stand at 0.6 per cent in the current fiscal year but climb to 1.3 per cent over the following year.
With the odds of the BOJ adding to the unprecedented level of stimulus introduced in April declining, the Yen was able to push below the psychological 100 Yen per Dollar level.
However, Deputy Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura also asserted yesterday that the central bank’s policies were open for adjustment should global economic conditions changed.
Nishimura commented: ‘The Bank of Japan has various options for its decisions as events unfold in the markets or overseas. It will basically continue conducting its current policy, while being able to make various adjustments such as increasing the frequency of its bond purchases.’
With little in the way of UK economic news scheduled for publication over the rest of this week movement in the GBP/JPY pairing could be limited.
Current Japanese Yen (JPY) Exchange Rates
< Down > Up
The US Dollar/Japanese Yen Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 99.3600 <
The Pound Sterling/Japanese Yen Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 149.9050 >
The Euro/Japanese Yen Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 129.5720 >
The New Zealand Dollar/Japanese Yen Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 78.3512 >
The Australian Dollar/Japanese Yen Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 91.6106 >
(Correct as of 10:50 GMT)
Comments are closed.