AUD/JPY jumps to near 94.00 as safe-haven assets lose steam, BoJ policy in focus

AUD/JPY gains sharply to near 94.00 as the safe-haven demand of the Japanese Yen diminishes.
The BoJ is expected to hold interest rates steady at 0.5%.
This week, investors will focus on the Aussie employment data for May.

Sagar Dua FXStreet

The AUD/JPY pair climbs to near 94.00 during European trading hours on Monday. The cross moves sharply higher as demand for safe-haven assets, such as the Japanese Yen (JPY) has diminished, while tensions between Israel and Iran have escalated.

Japanese Yen PRICE Today

The table below shows the percentage change of Japanese Yen (JPY) against listed major currencies today. Japanese Yen was the weakest against the Australian Dollar.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		-0.34%	-0.15%	-0.19%	-0.11%	-0.36%	-0.19%	0.10%
EUR	0.34%		0.07%	0.15%	0.23%	0.09%	0.14%	0.44%
GBP	0.15%	-0.07%		0.10%	0.16%	0.02%	0.09%	0.36%
JPY	0.19%	-0.15%	-0.10%		0.05%	-0.50%	-0.39%	-0.15%
CAD	0.11%	-0.23%	-0.16%	-0.05%		-0.18%	-0.09%	0.21%
AUD	0.36%	-0.09%	-0.02%	0.50%	0.18%		0.05%	0.34%
NZD	0.19%	-0.14%	-0.09%	0.39%	0.09%	-0.05%		0.29%
CHF	-0.10%	-0.44%	-0.36%	0.15%	-0.21%	-0.34%	-0.29%

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Japanese Yen from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent JPY (base)/USD (quote).

S&P 500 futures have gained significantly during the European trading session, exhibiting an increase in the risk-appetite of investors. Tensions between Israel and Iran have escalated as the former threatens to accelerate attacks if Tehran doesn’t stop launching missile attacks.

Going forward, the major trigger for the Japanese Yen will be the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) monetary policy announcement on Tuesday. The BoJ is almost certain to keep interest rates steady at 0.5%. Investors will closely monitor comments from BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda at the press conference, following the monetary policy decision, to get about cues about when the central bank could hike interest rates again.

Earlier this month, Kazuo Ueda stated that interest rate hikes would become appropriate once officials get convinced that the “economy and inflation will re-accelerate after a period of economic sluggishness”.

Meanwhile, the Australian Dollar (AUD) outperforms its peers, except European currencies. This week, investors will focus on the Australian employment data for May, which will be released on Thursday. The Unemployment Rate is expected to remain steady at 4.1%.

Economic Indicator

BoJ Interest Rate Decision

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) announces its interest rate decision after each of the Bank’s eight scheduled annual meetings. Generally, if the BoJ is hawkish about the inflationary outlook of the economy and raises interest rates it is bullish for the Japanese Yen (JPY). Likewise, if the BoJ has a dovish view on the Japanese economy and keeps interest rates unchanged, or cuts them, it is usually bearish for JPY.

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