Japanese yen is losing ground today, heading lower after some show of strength earlier. Yen is retreating as the situation looks to be changing from one of risk aversion to risk appetite. Plus, more easing is expected for the yen, and that is likely to contribute to weakness.
Even though the yen saw some strength earlier, that has quickly been overcome by a bit of risk appetite, as well as the strong expectation for yen weakness soon.
Shinzo Abe has long promoted aggressive easing policies, and his election to Prime Minister at the end of 2012 has been a strong factor for yen weakness, since he has an ambitious plan for economic stimulus. Right now, yen weakness is getting a boost from the fact that Masaaki Shirakawa is planning to step down early from his post as Governor of the Bank of Japan.
The news indicates that easing attempts could go forward sooner than expected. Abe is considered more interested in quantitative easing than Shirakawa. With Shirakawa out of the way, many analysts expect yen weakness to increase sooner than expected.
At 14:01 GMT USD/JPY is up to 93.1250 from the open at 92.3790. EUR/JPY is up to 125.8815 from the open at 124.8400. GBP/JPY is up to 146.5040 from the open at 145.6150.
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