BOJ keeps policy steady in January, downgrades economic assessment

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept its monetary policy settings unadjusted on the conclusion of its two-day January monetary policy review meeting on Thursday.

The central bank left the key rate steady at -10bps while maintaining a 10yr JGB yield target at 0.00%.

The BOJ trimmed its economic forecast for the current year ending in March to a 5.6% contraction from the previous forecast for a 5.5% decline.

More: BOJ Quarterly Outlook Report: Japan's economy in severe state but recovering as a trend

Statement summary

Decision on yield curve control made by 7-1 vote.

Board member Kataoka opposes decision on yield curve control.

Board member Amamiya was absent from meeting.

Market reaction

USD/JPY is a little changed on the announcement, trading modestly flat above 103.50 amid broad-based US dollar weakness.

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

GBP/USD holds above 1.3350 with the 200-day SMA capping gains

The British Pound appreciates against the US Dollar on Tuesday to trim previous losses and return to the 1.3375 area, aiming to retest resistance at the key 200-day Simple Moving Average. This is a popular indicator, which lies a few pips below 1.3400 and has been capping Pound’s recovery over the last two weeks.

EUR/USD consolidates gains above 1.1400

Following an earlier move to multi-day peaks past 1.1460, EUR/USD has now slipped back toward the low 1.1400s as the NA session draws to a close on Tuesday. Declining bets for potential Fed tightening later in the year coupled with poor US CPI data hurt the US Dollar, lending fresh legs to the pair and the broader risk-linked universe. Moving forward, the release of US PPI and Chair Warsh’s second testumony should keep investors entertained on Wednesday.

Gold battles to recover the $4,100 mark

Gold reverses the recent weakness and reclaims the area beyond the key $4,000 mark per troy ounce on Tuesday. The precious metal’s recovery picks up pace and approaches the $4,100 region following the Greenback’s decline and comments from the Fed’s Warsh.

Bitcoin, crypto market post gains following weaker US inflation reading

The crypto market posted gains on Tuesday following the release of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for June, which showed that inflation cooled below market expectations. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, annual inflation slowed to 3.5% in June from 4.2% in May, marking its first decline in five months and coming in below the consensus forecast of 3.8%.

Fed Chair Warsh reaffirms they will deliver price stability

While testifying on the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report before the US House Financial Services Committee, Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh reiterated that the Fed is making a commitment on price stability and the goal of 2% inflation.

Five sessions, one round trip: Why the whipsaw is exactly what Warsh ordered

Markets opened July with a December hike as the base case and spent five trading sessions unlearning and relearning it. A 57K payrolls print bled the tightening bets out of the strip; a re-shut Strait of Hormuz is pushing them back in. Wednesday's minutes from the June FOMC meeting landed mid-round-trip, describing a world that had already stopped existing.