USD/JPY is stable on Friday, as the pair trades in the low-118 range. Japan released a host of data on Thursday, as consumer spending and inflation releases met expectations. On Friday, Japanese Housing Starts declined but beat the estimate. There are no US releases on Friday, following the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.
Japan released a batch of events on Thursday, and most were very close to their estimates. Tokyo Core CPI, the most important inflation index, dipped for the fourth straight month, coming in at 2.4%. Still, this was good enough to edge above the estimate of 2.5%. Retail Sales posted a gain of 1.4%, just shy of the forecast of 1.5%. Preliminary Industrial Production fell to just 0.2%, but this beat the estimate of -0.4%. Household Spending came in at -4.0%, its seventh straight decline. This beat the estimate of -4.8%.
The Japanese yen continues to trade at low levels, and BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda addressed this earlier in the week, noting that the soft yen was having a negative effect on the Japanese economy. The yen received a boost after the BoJ minutes showed that some policymakers opposed the BoJ’s decision to expand its stimulus program in October. At that time, the BoJ shocked the markets when it increased its government debt purchases from JPY 60-70 trillion to 80 trillion per year. The yen reacted by dropping sharply and continues to trade at low levels against the dollar.
USD/JPY 118.19 H: 118.34 L: 117.86
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