|

Japanese Yen: Sideways against US Dollar after volatile swings – MUFG

MUFG’s Teppei Ino reviews recent USD/JPY price action, noting the pair opened near 156.90 and experienced several sharp intraday swings between the 155 and 158 levels during Japan’s holiday period. Despite volatility, the US Dollar (USD) –Japanese Yen (JPY) ended the week broadly unchanged, while other G10 currencies also showed limited moves of less than 1% versus the Dollar.

Volatile intraday moves but limited progress

"The USD/JPY opened the week at 156.92. The pair edged higher from early Asian trading on 4 May, a holiday in Japan, but briefly plunged to the 155 range around midday. It quickly recovered to the 156 range and then rose to the low 157 range."

"The pair traded broadly sideways during Asian trading on 5 May before rising to just below 158 after European participants entered the market."

"However, it fell sharply again during Asian trading on 6 May, hitting a low of exactly 155 then quickly recovering to around 156.50 before trading in the low 156 range through 7 May, after Japan's holiday period ended."

"The dollar strengthened during US trading on 7 May following reports that the US and Iran had exchanged fire, and the USD/JPY edged higher to just below 157. The pair was still trading in the upper 156 range at the time of writing on 8 May."

"G10 currency moves this week were limited, with currencies moving less than 1% higher or lower around the dollar. The yen repeatedly made sharp moves against the dollar, but viewed over the week as a whole, it did not move significantly against either the dollar or other currencies."

(This article was created with the help of an Artificial Intelligence tool and reviewed by an editor.)

Author

FXStreet Insights Team

The FXStreet Insights Team is a group of journalists that handpicks selected market observations published by renowned experts. The content includes notes by commercial as well as additional insights by internal and external analysts.

More from FXStreet Insights Team
Share:

Editor's Picks

GBP/USD off highs, back to 1.3620

GBP/USD remains slightly on the defensive at the end of the week, receding to the low 1.3600s after hitting fresh tops past 1.3670 earlier in the day. Cable’s correction comes after two daily gains in a row and amid a tepid advance in the Greenback, while poor UK data also accompany the downside.

EUR/USD treads water below 1.1700

EUR/USD now trades with modest losses around 1.1670 following another unsuccessful atempt to advance past 1.1700 the figure in a convincing fashion. The pair’s decline follows a maginal rebound in the US Dollar as market participants continue to assess recent US data as well as developments from the US bond market.

Gold trims gains, recedes to the sub-$4,600 area

Gold rapidly leaves behind Thursday’s inconclusive price action and advances markedly on Friday, briefly surpassing the $4,600 mark per troy ounce to hit three-month peaks. Meanwhile, the precious metal’s solid performance comes despite marginal gains in the buck coupled with another day of rising US Treasury yields across the curve.

Week ahead: Fed’s Jackson Hole and Nvidia earnings to dictate markets
The new Fed chair, Kevin Warsh, has made few public appearances since taking the central bank helm in May, yet he’s found it difficult to steer off controversy. Question marks about his relations with the President, Donald Trump, continue to swirl, while markets are still trying to make sense of his approach to monetary policy.
CFTC Report: Oil positioning rebounds; VIX and Yen exposure turn more bearish
The week in one sentence: Speculative positioning turned more constructive in the week to August 18. WTI recorded the largest increase, followed by a sharp narrowing in CAD net shorts. VIX and JPY positioning moved the other way, while Gold remained the clearest crowded long despite a softer spot price.
$20 billion offered, $2 billion taken: Why Treasury doubled its buyback cap

The US Treasury moved off its own calendar on Wednesday, and that is the part worth sitting with. At 12:32 GMT, the department said it would at least double the size of liquidity support buyback operations in the 10-year to 20-year and 20-year to 30-year sectors, lifting the maximum from $2 billion per operation to at least $4 billion, effective September 9 and running to November 4.