Euro underperforms against Japanese Yen amid Japan’s intervention fears

Euro is sharply down to near 178.40 against the Japanese Yen amid fears of another US-Japan intervention.
Japan's Mimura said that markets should take at face value the "very ‌clear" message Tokyo and Washington.
Investors keenly await the inflation data from both Japan and the Eurozone.

Sagar Dua FXStreet

The Japanese Yen (JPY) trades higher against its major currency peers in the European trade on Monday, with the EUR/JPY pair declining 0.4% to near 178.40. The Asia-Pacific currency continues to draw support from verbal warnings of Japan’s intervention to support the currency.

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 Swiss Franc.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		0.12%	-0.33%	-0.34%	0.12%	0.09%	-0.09%	0.22%
EUR	-0.12%		-0.29%	-0.43%	0.00%	0.02%	-0.06%	0.11%
GBP	0.33%	0.29%		-0.12%	0.29%	0.30%	0.23%	0.52%
JPY	0.34%	0.43%	0.12%		0.43%	0.41%	0.35%	0.67%
CAD	-0.12%	-0.00%	-0.29%	-0.43%		-0.04%	-0.10%	0.21%
AUD	-0.09%	-0.02%	-0.30%	-0.41%	0.04%		-0.07%	0.24%
NZD	0.09%	0.06%	-0.23%	-0.35%	0.10%	0.07%		0.33%
CHF	-0.22%	-0.11%	-0.52%	-0.67%	-0.21%	-0.24%	-0.33%

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).

Earlier in the day, Japan's top currency diplomat Atsushi Mimura said on that markets should take at face value the "very ‌clear" message Tokyo and Washington delivered last week on the Yen, signalling his resolve to act against excessive falls in the currency, Reuters report.

Last week, Japanese Finance Minister (FM) Satsuki Katayama said that United States (US) President Donald Trump expressed concern over the Yen's weakness during his meeting with Prime Minister (PM) Sanae Takaichi in New York in regard to US-Japan joint intervention that took place on July 31. Katayama added, "The principles since the previous joint intervention ⁠remain alive."

On the economic data front, investors keenly await the Tokyo Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for September, which will be published on Friday. The CPI report is expected to show that inflation ex. Fresh Food accelerated to 2.4% Year-on-Year (YoY) from the previous reading of 1.8%.

Meanwhile, the Euro (EUR) underperforms at the start of the week, with investors shifting their focus on the preliminary German and Eurozone Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) data for September releasing on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. In both regions, price pressures are expected to have grown at a faster pace.

Economic Indicator

Tokyo CPI ex Fresh Food (YoY)

The Tokyo Consumer Price Index (CPI), released by the Statistics Bureau of Japan on a monthly basis, measures the price fluctuation of goods and services purchased by households in the Tokyo region excluding fresh food, whose prices often fluctuate depending on the weather. The index is widely considered as a leading indicator of Japan’s overall CPI as it is published weeks before the nationwide reading. The YoY reading compares prices in the reference month to the same month a year earlier. Generally, a high reading is seen as bullish for the Japanese Yen (JPY), while a low reading is seen as bearish.

AUD/USD defends 0.7000 ahead of RBA on Tuesday

AUD/USD is defending 0.7000 at the start of a new week, trading near its lowest level since August 4 amid a bullish US Dollar. US yields hold near multi-year highs amid inflation risks from higher oil prices and rising bets on an October Fed rate hike. This, along with the US-Iran standoff, continues to underpin the safe-haven buck and weigh on the pair ahead of Tuesday's RBA policy announcements.

USD/JPY climbs back toward 158.00 after BoJ minutes amid firm USD

USD/JPY finds dip-buyers and reverses part of Friday's slide driven by speculation that authorities will step in again to prop up the Japanese Yen. However, the BoJ's dovish Minutes cap the JPY. Meanwhile, the US Dollar regains traction as the US-Iran standoff supports crude oil prices, fueling inflation fears and reaffirming bets for an October Fed rate hike. This further supports the pair, driving it back toward 158.00.

Gold sheds 3%, eyeing $4,100 on renewed US-Iran risks

Gold is falling hard at the start of a new week, targeting $4,100 for the first time in eight weeks. Firming October Fed rate-hike bets, along with oil-driven inflation risks, keep US bond yields elevated near multi-year highs, helping the US Dollar hold firm, particularly after Trump rejected Iran's truce offer. These factors weigh heavily on the bullion.

Zcash risks a decline below $1,500 as bullish momentum eases

Zcash price hovers below $1,550 on Monday, extending losses after a 4% decline the previous day. Institutional interest in the privacy coin holds firm, recording over $35 million in inflows last week, while retail speculation takes a hit, with ZEC futures Open Interest down around 10% in 24 hours.

Data back in the driver’s seat this week

Markets will look for fresh evidence of a hot US economy from this week as September figures start to flow in. Upside surprises in jobs data could take rate hike pricing for the October FOMC above 20bp. It’s not our baseline though, and we expect some stabilisation with modest downside risks for USD in the coming days. We expect a hawkish hike by the RBA tomorrow.

Fed vs BoJ: Both hiked. The market only believes one of them – and the chart shows which

The Fed and the BoJ have just done something remarkably similar. Both central banks raised interest rates by 25 bps last week, both are confronting inflation risks, and both signal that future decisions will depend on incoming economic data.