Japanese yen is lower today, falling against most major currencies. Data from the United States and Europe isn’t dire enough to support the yen, and there are plenty of reasons for continued yen weakness at this point.
Earlier, Fitch Ratings issued a report that indicated that it thinks that the yen is so far “weathering” the sales tax increase that has been an issue for the country’s economy. Since the implementation of the sales tax increase in April, the Japanese economy has been struggling a bit as consumers reduce purchases of big-ticket items. However, the economy wasn’t as weak as expected at the last GDP reading, so the country remains reasonably stable.
As a result, there is no reason to believe that the Bank of Japan will take steps to stop its loose monetary policy, and the yen is lower today. Also, even though there has been lackluster data out of the United States and the eurozone, it’s not enough to cause the uncertainty that would result in risk aversion, so the yen remains a bit lower today.
At 14:46 GMT USD/JPY is higher, up to 102.4810 from the open at 102.4505. EUR/JPY is up to 137.3175 from the open at 136.9270. GBP/JPY is up to 170.9725 from the open at 170.9550.
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