Australian Dollar tumbles against Japanese Yen on suspected intervention
- AUD/JPY drops to its lowest level since July 3 as the Japanese Yen surges across the board.
- Suspected intervention sends USD/JPY nearly 480 pips lower, although Tokyo has yet to confirm any action.
- Traders shift their attention to Friday’s BoJ interest rate decision.
AUD/JPY tumbles on Thursday as a sudden surge in the Japanese Yen (JPY) sweeps across Yen crosses, fuelling speculation that Japanese authorities intervened to support the currency after USD/JPY hit a 40-year high earlier this month.
At the time of writing, AUD/JPY trades around 111.70, down roughly 1.75% on the day and at its lowest level since July 3.
USD/JPY plunged nearly 480 pips, falling below the psychological 160 mark. There has been no official confirmation from Tokyo, although Japanese officials have repeatedly warned that they are prepared to act against excessive currency moves.
Meanwhile, Reuters also recently reported that authorities were considering a change in strategy that would involve intervening without warning.
Traders now look to Friday’s Bank of Japan (BoJ) decision, alongside the Tokyo Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Unemployment Rate. The BoJ is widely expected to keep its policy rate unchanged at 1.00%.
The Australian Dollar (AUD) was already under modest pressure after softer-than-expected Australian inflation data released earlier this week. CPI fell 0.1% MoM in June, against expectations for a 0.2% increase, following a 0.7% decline in May. Annual inflation eased to 3.8% from 4.0%.
The softer inflation data reduced expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will raise rates again in August.
Japanese Yen Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of Japanese Yen (JPY) against listed major currencies today. Japanese Yen was the strongest against the US Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.32% | -0.43% | -2.58% | -0.23% | -0.76% | -1.15% | -0.82% | |
| EUR | 0.32% | -0.12% | -2.27% | 0.08% | -0.46% | -0.85% | -0.50% | |
| GBP | 0.43% | 0.12% | -2.12% | 0.20% | -0.33% | -0.72% | -0.35% | |
| JPY | 2.58% | 2.27% | 2.12% | 2.41% | 1.87% | 1.44% | 1.84% | |
| CAD | 0.23% | -0.08% | -0.20% | -2.41% | -0.52% | -0.93% | -0.56% | |
| AUD | 0.76% | 0.46% | 0.33% | -1.87% | 0.52% | -0.38% | -0.04% | |
| NZD | 1.15% | 0.85% | 0.72% | -1.44% | 0.93% | 0.38% | 0.41% | |
| CHF | 0.82% | 0.50% | 0.35% | -1.84% | 0.56% | 0.04% | -0.41% |
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).
Author
Vishal Chaturvedi
FXStreet
I am a macro-focused research analyst with over four years of experience covering forex and commodities market. I enjoy breaking down complex economic trends and turning them into clear, actionable insights that help traders stay ahead of the curve.
