USD/JPY: Modest gains as MoF warnings cap upside – Scotiabank

FXStreet Insights Team FXStreet

Scotiabank analysts Shaun Osborne and Eric Theoret note that USD/JPY is up modestly, with the Japanese Yen soft versus the US Dollar but outperforming most G10 currencies except the Canadian Dollar. The currency is drawing some haven support and appears underpinned by verbal intervention from Japan’s Ministry of Finance. The latest USD/JPY advance has cleared early February election highs, leaving little resistance before the mid‑159s.

Yen steadies on haven flows and MoF rhetoric

"The yen is soft, down a modest 0.3% vs. the USD while performing relatively well against all of the G10 currencies with the exception of the CAD."

"The yen’s relative gains are important, reflecting (some) lingering haven-related strength despite the recent shift in the currency’s relationship to risk more broadly."

"The yen’s relative performance also likely reflects verbal intervention from Japan’s Minister of Finance Katayama who stated that the gov’t was ‘monitoring’ financial markets with ‘utmost vigilance’, language that is typically used as a warning to markets in order to mitigate disorderly conditions with the threat of central bank action."

"For USDJPY, the latest gains have broken the early Feb election highs, offering nothing ahead of local range high in the mid 159s."

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

Author

FXStreet Insights Team

FXStreet

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.

EUR/USD: Cautiously optimistic near 1.1550 ahead of the ECB

EUR/USD extends its weekly recovery for the third day in a row on Wednesday, navigating in a sidelined fashion around 1.1550 on the back of humble losses in the US Dollar. In the meantime, market participants continue to closely follow developments in the Middle East while slowly gearing up for the ECB gathering on Thursday.

GBP/USD recedes from tops, hovers around 1.3400

GBP/USD could not sustain the initial bull run and is now slipping back toward the 1.3400 neighbourhood on Wednesday. Cable’s continuation of the ongoing leg higher follows mild selling pressure on the Greenback, despite steady uncertainty on the geopolitical front and elevated US inflation.

Gold bleeding continues as Middle East crisis escalates, Fed hike coming

Gold is accelerating its downward trends and approaches the area of $4,100 per troy ounce on Wednesday, where the 2026 bottom sits so far. The persistent decline in the precious metal almost exclusively follows the swelling opinion that the Fed will keep a cautious stance in H2, a view that was reinforced following earlier US CPI data.

$1,500: Why Ethereum just crashed 20% despite spot markets barely selling

Ethereum (ETH) recently suffered one of its sharpest declines of 2026, dropping more than 20% and briefly testing the $1,500 area. While the sell-off appeared to reflect broader market fears, derivatives and on-chain data suggest a more complex story may be unfolding beneath the surface.

Brutal sell-off: Silver deepens months-long slide, refocusing on $60

Silver has never been known for its calm temperament. The precious metal can spend weeks grinding higher before suddenly giving back months of gains in a matter of days. That volatile reputation has been on full display in recent weeks.

The US economy defies the rules: 100 days into the Oil shock and the recession signal is still missing

More than three months after the start of the Iran war and the resulting disruption to global energy markets, the US economy continues to display remarkable resilience. The conflict has triggered a sharp rise in Oil prices, reignited inflationary pressures and fueled widespread concerns about a potential economic slowdown.