|

USD/JPY dips as markets eye Fed, BoJ meetings amid rising inflation risks

  • USD/JPY dips at the start of the week as markets await the Fed and BoJ policy meetings.
  • Rising Oil prices linked to the Middle East war are fuelling inflation concerns and complicating Japan’s economic outlook.
  • Japanese authorities step up warnings against excessive currency moves, raising intervention risks.

USD/JPY declines on Monday, trading around 159.20 at the time of writing, down 0.33% on the day as the Japanese Yen (JPY) gains modest ground ahead of a crucial week for global central banks, with policy decisions from the Federal Reserve (Fed) and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Markets broadly expect the Fed to keep interest rates unchanged within the current 3.50%-3.75% range on Wednesday. The recent surge in Oil prices, driven by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, is adding to inflation concerns in the United States (US) and encouraging policymakers to maintain a cautious stance. According to the CME FedWatch tool, investors do not expect a rate cut before the October meeting.

Against this backdrop, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the Greenback against a basket of six major currencies, falls below the 100 level after reaching a more than nine-month high of 100.54 on Friday.

Attention then turns to the Bank of Japan (BoJ), which is widely expected to keep its policy rate unchanged at 0.75% on Thursday while maintaining the option of further tightening if inflation remains persistent. Investors will closely watch comments from BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda for clues on how higher energy prices could influence inflation dynamics and economic growth in Japan.

The surge in Oil prices presents a challenge for the Japanese economy, which relies heavily on imported energy. Earlier on Monday, Japan announced it had begun releasing Oil from its strategic reserves to help meet domestic energy demand amid concerns about potential supply disruptions.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Yen is also drawing support from renewed warnings by authorities regarding excessive currency moves. Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama stated that the government is closely monitoring developments in the foreign exchange market and stands ready to take action if necessary. Over the weekend, Japan and South Korea issued a rare joint statement expressing serious concern about the rapid depreciation of both the Japanese Yen and the South Korean Won (KRW).

US Dollar Price Today

The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Canadian Dollar.

USDEURGBPJPYCADAUDNZDCHF
USD-0.72%-0.67%-0.33%-0.30%-1.10%-1.37%-0.49%
EUR0.72%0.14%0.40%0.43%-0.37%-0.52%0.24%
GBP0.67%-0.14%0.34%0.29%-0.51%-0.70%0.14%
JPY0.33%-0.40%-0.34%0.04%-0.77%-0.87%-0.16%
CAD0.30%-0.43%-0.29%-0.04%-0.79%-0.98%-0.15%
AUD1.10%0.37%0.51%0.77%0.79%-0.18%0.73%
NZD1.37%0.52%0.70%0.87%0.98%0.18%0.83%
CHF0.49%-0.24%-0.14%0.16%0.15%-0.73%-0.83%

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 US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).

Author

Ghiles Guezout

Ghiles Guezout is a Market Analyst with a strong background in stock market investments, trading, and cryptocurrencies. He combines fundamental and technical analysis skills to identify market opportunities.

More from Ghiles Guezout
Share:

Editor's Picks

GBP/USD targets 1.3500 amid solid gains

The persistent weakness hurting the Greenback lends support to the British Pound and the rest of the risk-linked assets, sending GBP/USD to new two-day tops past 1.3480 on Wednesday. Indeed, Cable advances for the second day in a row helped by the constant optimism around a potential US-Iran deal.

EUR/USD flirts with two-month peaks around 1.1560

EUR/USD builds on Tuesday’s advance and confronts the area of multi-week highs in the 1.1550-1.1560 band on Wednesday. The continuation of the pair’s recovery comes once again on the back of the renewed selling pressure on the US Dollar, always in response to diminishing geopolitical tensions.

How Wall Street rigs the game [Video]

In this week’s Live from the Vault, Andrew Maguire is joined by Peter Antico and Sean Stone to discuss the Paradigm of Money - an in-depth expose of financial market corruption, from naked shorting to the two-tier system that protects Wall Street.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum advance while XRP lags amid US-Iran deal optimism
Bitcoin (BTC) hovers near $64,000 at the time of writing on Wednesday, buoyed by a marginal improvement in crypto sentiment amid growing optimism that the United States (US) and Iran could potentially reach an agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz this week. Ethereum (ETH) mirrors Bitcoin’s neutral-to-bullish outlook, trading toward $1,900.
Taking out the lines in the sand
Good Day... And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! Well, just as I suspected, my beloved Cardinals' bats went silent last night in the Bronx, and they lost 0-2... The Yankees' bats were exactly a murderer's row, but they hit 2 homers and won. I said yesterday that the song : Just Once In My Life, could be the Cardinals' song after hitting 5 home runs the previous night!
9-3: Is the Federal Reserve’s vote tally Warsh's new forward guidance?
The rate did not move. Neither did the statement, and that’s the more interesting fact. Set the July 29 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement beside the one issued on June 17, and the two documents are identical apart from a single verb and a paragraph at the bottom naming three dissenters.