USD/JPY slumps to near 146.50 as US Bessent anticipates BoJ interest rate hikes
- USD/JPY declines to near 146.50 as US Treasury Secretary Bessent stated that the BoJ would hike interest rates.
- Intensifying Fed dovish bets have weighed on the US Dollar.
- Investors await the US PPI data for July.
The USD/JPY pair falls sharply to near 146.50 on Thursday. The pair faces a sharp selling pressure as the Japanese Yen (JPY) outperforms its peers, following comments from United States (US) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) would raise interest rates.
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 New Zealand Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.12% | -0.05% | -0.63% | 0.14% | 0.26% | 0.45% | 0.07% | |
| EUR | -0.12% | -0.14% | -0.72% | 0.01% | 0.15% | 0.31% | -0.06% | |
| GBP | 0.05% | 0.14% | -0.60% | 0.28% | 0.35% | 0.56% | 0.19% | |
| JPY | 0.63% | 0.72% | 0.60% | 0.80% | 0.88% | 0.97% | 0.66% | |
| CAD | -0.14% | -0.01% | -0.28% | -0.80% | 0.15% | 0.30% | -0.07% | |
| AUD | -0.26% | -0.15% | -0.35% | -0.88% | -0.15% | 0.21% | -0.27% | |
| NZD | -0.45% | -0.31% | -0.56% | -0.97% | -0.30% | -0.21% | -0.42% | |
| CHF | -0.07% | 0.06% | -0.19% | -0.66% | 0.07% | 0.27% | 0.42% |
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).
US Bessent said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Wednesday that the Japanese economy is behind the curve in addressing inflation. Therefore, the BoJ would need to tighten its monetary policy. “They’re [the BoJ is] behind the curve. So, they’re going to be hiking and they need to get their inflation problem under control,” Bessent said.
Meanwhile, the US Dollar (USD) strives to gain ground ahead of the US Producer Price Index (PPI) data for July, which will be published at 12:30 GMT. Investors will closely monitor the producer inflation to know whether business owners have raised prices of goods and services to offset the impact of tariffs.
At the time of writing, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, trades cautiously near the two-week low of around 97.60.
Month-on-month headline and core PPI are estimated to have risen by 0.2%, after remaining flat in June. On year, the headline and the core PPI are expected to have grown at a faster pace of 2.5% and 2.9%, respectively.
Broadly speaking, the US Dollar has been underperforming due to firm expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut interest rates in the September monetary policy meeting.
US Dollar FAQs
The US Dollar (USD) is the official currency of the United States of America, and the ‘de facto’ currency of a significant number of other countries where it is found in circulation alongside local notes. It is the most heavily traded currency in the world, accounting for over 88% of all global foreign exchange turnover, or an average of $6.6 trillion in transactions per day, according to data from 2022. Following the second world war, the USD took over from the British Pound as the world’s reserve currency. For most of its history, the US Dollar was backed by Gold, until the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971 when the Gold Standard went away.
The most important single factor impacting on the value of the US Dollar is monetary policy, which is shaped by the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed has two mandates: to achieve price stability (control inflation) and foster full employment. Its primary tool to achieve these two goals is by adjusting interest rates. When prices are rising too quickly and inflation is above the Fed’s 2% target, the Fed will raise rates, which helps the USD value. When inflation falls below 2% or the Unemployment Rate is too high, the Fed may lower interest rates, which weighs on the Greenback.
In extreme situations, the Federal Reserve can also print more Dollars and enact quantitative easing (QE). QE is the process by which the Fed substantially increases the flow of credit in a stuck financial system. It is a non-standard policy measure used when credit has dried up because banks will not lend to each other (out of the fear of counterparty default). It is a last resort when simply lowering interest rates is unlikely to achieve the necessary result. It was the Fed’s weapon of choice to combat the credit crunch that occurred during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008. It involves the Fed printing more Dollars and using them to buy US government bonds predominantly from financial institutions. QE usually leads to a weaker US Dollar.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse process whereby the Federal Reserve stops buying bonds from financial institutions and does not reinvest the principal from the bonds it holds maturing in new purchases. It is usually positive for the US Dollar.
Author
Sagar Dua
FXStreet
Sagar Dua is associated with the financial markets from his college days. Along with pursuing post-graduation in Commerce in 2014, he started his markets training with chart analysis.
