- USD/JPY gained bullish momentum and broke above the 149.00 level.
- Encouraging US retail sales and jobless claims data boost USD.
- The Dollar Index is up more than 0.5% on the day above 103.00.
The USD/JPY gained bullish momentum and broke out of its one-week range in the American session on Thursday. At press time, the pair was trading a few pips above the 149.00 level, up 1.1% on the day.
US Dollar Benefits from Encouraging Data
Renewed strength in the US Dollar (USD) triggered a rally in the second half of the day on Thursday. US data showed that weekly initial jobless claims declined to 227,000 from 234,000 and retail sales rose 1%, beating the market expectation of a 0.3% increase. With these readings easing fears over an economic downturn in the US, the USD started to outperform its rivals. At the time of writing, the USD Index was up 0.55% on the day at 103.15.
Later in the session, investors will be paying close attention to comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) officials. According to CME’s FedWatch tool, markets are currently pricing in a 23.5% chance that the Fed will cut the policy rate by 50 basis points (bps), up from nearly 50% earlier in the week.
US Dollar PRICE Today
The table below shows the exchange rate of the US Dollar (USD) against major currencies today. The US Dollar was the strongest currency against the Japanese Yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.51% | 0.10% | 1.13% | 0.09% | -0.08% | 0.35% | 0.87% | |
| EUR | -0.51% | -0.42% | 0.59% | -0.43% | -0.67% | -0.34% | 0.35% | |
| GBP | -0.10% | 0.42% | 1.01% | -0.01% | -0.25% | 0.09% | 0.87% | |
| JPY | -1.13% | -0.59% | -1.01% | -1.03% | -1.22% | -0.90% | -0.14% | |
| CAD | -0.09% | 0.43% | 0.00% | 1.03% | -0.18% | 0.10% | 0.88% | |
| AUD | 0.08% | 0.67% | 0.25% | 1.22% | 0.18% | 0.33% | 1.12% | |
| NZD | -0.35% | 0.34% | -0.09% | 0.90% | -0.10% | -0.33% | 0.78% | |
| CHF | -0.87% | -0.35% | -0.87% | 0.14% | -0.88% | -1.12% | -0.78% |
The heatmap shows percentage changes of major currencies. The base currency is selected from the left column, while the quote currency is selected from the top row. For example, if you choose the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change shown in the chart will represent the USD (base)/JPY (quote).
Japanese Yen FAQs
The Japanese Yen (JPY) is one of the most traded currencies in the world. Its value is determined broadly by the performance of the Japanese economy, but more specifically by the policy of the Bank of Japan, the spread between Japanese and US bond yields, and risk sentiment among traders, among other factors.
One of the Bank of Japan’s mandates is currency control, so its moves are key to the Yen. The BoJ has intervened directly in currency markets on occasion, usually to lower the value of the Yen, although it often refrains from doing so due to political concerns of its major trading partners. The BoJ’s current ultra-loose monetary policy, based on massive stimulus to the economy, has caused the Yen to depreciate against its major currency peers. This process has been exacerbated more recently by a growing policy divergence between the BoJ and other major central banks, which have opted to sharply raise interest rates to fight decades-old levels of inflation.
The Bank of Japan’s stance of maintaining an ultra-loose monetary policy has led to an increase in policy divergence with other central banks, in particular with the US Federal Reserve. This favours the widening of the spread between US and Japanese 10-year bonds, which favours the Dollar against the Yen.
The Japanese Yen is often considered a safe haven investment. This means that in times of market stress, investors are more likely to put their money into the Japanese currency due to its perceived reliability and stability. In turbulent times, the Yen is likely to appreciate against other currencies that are considered riskier to invest in.
Source: Fx Street
I am Joshua Winder, a senior-level journalist and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in covering news related to the stock market and economic trends. With more than 8 years of experience in this field, I have become an expert in financial reporting.
