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☆ Dollar weakens as Powell's testimony offers little surprise; sterling steady
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The dollar languished near a one-month low against a basket of currencies on Thursday, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stuck to his usual messaging at his semi-annual testimony, offering little room for surprise. The U.S. dollar index last stood at 102.05 in early Asia trade, not far from its recent five-week low of 102.00. Elsewhere, sterling rose 0.02% to $1.2770, not far from a one-year high of $1.2849 hit last week. Against the Japanese yen , the dollar slipped 0.06% to 141.82, having touched a seven-month peak of 142.37 yen in the previous session. The Japanese currency has come under renewed pressure as the Bank of Japan continues to stick to its ultra-dovish stance.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Sterling, Powell, didn't, Carol Kong, BoE, Seiji Adachi Organizations: Federal, Bank of, Capitol, U.S, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ANZ, Bank of Japan Locations: U.S, Asia, Powell

☆ BOJ policymaker calls for keeping low rates, focus on wages
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Noguchi also warned of risks to Japan's economy, such as uncertainty over global economic and market developments. Under yield curve control (YCC), the BOJ sets a -0.1% target for short-term interest rates and caps the 10-year bond yield around 0% to reflate growth and inflation. With inflation exceeding its target, markets are simmering with speculation the BOJ will soon tweak YCC due to criticism the policy is distorting market pricing and crushing financial institutions' profit margins. BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda has stressed the need to keep monetary policy ultra-loose until there is more evidence wages will keep rising next year, helping Japan sustainably hit the 2% inflation target. Reporting by Leika Kihara Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Sam HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Asahi Noguchi, Noguchi, Seiji Adachi, Kazuo Ueda, Leika, Chang, Ran Kim, Sam Holmes Organizations: Noguchi, Global, Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: Japan, TOKYO, Naha

After an initial rise, sterling fell as much as 0.56% against the dollar to a low of $1.2691 following this month's inflation figures. Investors and money managers now turn their focus to Fed chief Jerome Powell's testimony before Congress at 10:00 a.m. "The former may do more to give additional support to send the dollar index and (bond) yields higher." The rally against the yen pushed the U.S. dollar index , which measures the currency against six major peers, up slightly to 102.58. "The Aussie could dip below 0.6700 this week, particularly if Powell is hawkish," he said.

Persons: Powell, Jerome Powell's, Adam Cole, Kazuo Ueda, Tuesday's, Joe Capurso, Bitcoin, Charles Schwab, Tom Westbrook, Farouq Suleiman, Sam Holmes, Kim Coghill, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Federal, RBC Capital Markets, Bank of Japan, U.S, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Fidelity, Citadel Securities, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, LONDON, Asia, Pacific, China, Tokyo

☆ Stocks and bonds reflect fears of Powell embracing his inner hawk
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Lawrence White | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Housebuilders (.FTNMX402020) declined 3% at one point as the prospect of more rate increases raised fresh concerns about mortgage costs. The U.S. dollar was firmer ahead of Powell's congressional testimony, with the dollar index up 0.1% at 102.62. Minutes of the central bank's last meeting showed only one of nine board members suggested reconsidering its policy of keeping bond yields low, and even then suggested it was best to wait a while. Rising interest rates and higher bond yields have been a burden for gold, which was pinned at $1,934 an ounce , just above last week's three-month low of $1,924.99. The Brent benchmark edged down 4 cents to $75.86 a barrel while U.S. crude lost 3 cents to $71.16.

Persons: Toby, Powell, Jerome Powell, Tapas Strickland, Jerry del Missier, doggedly, Lawrence White, Wayne Cole, Jacqueline Wong, Lincoln, Alex Richardson, David Goodman Organizations: London Stock Exchange Group, REUTERS, . Federal, NAB, Nasdaq, Copper, BRITAIN Investors ramped, Bank of, U.S, Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: City, London, Britain, Beijing, Asia, Pacific, Japan, Bank of England

☆ Dollar firm ahead of Powell testimony, sterling up on hot inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sterling briefly rose as far as 0.3% against the dollar to $1.2803 before settling back to $1.2765. It also rose slightly on the euro and yen , as traders were betting the Bank of England would need to take rates higher. Powell is due to begin his testimony before Congress at 1400 GMT. "The former may do more to give additional support to send the dollar index and yields higher." "The Aussie could dip below 0.6700 this week, particularly if Powell is hawkish," he said.

Persons: Powell, Jerome Powell's, Sterling, Tuesday's, Joe Capurso, steadying, Charles Schwab, Tom Westbrook, Sam Holmes, Kim Coghill Organizations: Federal, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, Fed, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, New Zealand, U.S, Fidelity, Citadel Securities, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Asia, China, Tokyo

☆ BOJ's Adachi sees only small chance of July policy tweak
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"If market conditions don't change much from now, the chance of us tweaking yield curve control in July to arrest any distortion in the yield curve will be small," he said. The remarks were the strongest yet from a BOJ policymaker ruling out the chance of a policy tweak at the next meeting scheduled on July 27-28. Adachi said the BOJ must look at consumer price data for July onward to judge whether inflation was overshooting its baseline scenario. But there's high uncertainty over our baseline inflation outlook, so it's premature to tweak monetary policy," he said in a speech to Kagoshima business leaders. "The BOJ must humbly monitor price and wage developments, and respond not too quickly, but also not too slowly" the second member said.

Persons: Seiji Adachi, Adachi, Kazuo Ueda, Leika, Shri Navaratnam, Sam Holmes Organizations: Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: KAGOSHIMA, Japan, Kagoshima

☆ BOJ's Adachi says it's premature to tweak ultra-loose policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KAGOSHIMA, Japan, June 21 (Reuters) - Bank of Japan board member Seiji Adachi said it was too early to phase out ultra-loose monetary policy due to uncertainty over the price outlook, brushing aside expectations of an early tweak to its controversial yield curve control policy. "Amid huge uncertainty over the price outlook, there are upside and downside risks. "When considering whether it's appropriate to change monetary policy, we must carefully take into account such risks," he said. Adachi said distortions in the shape of the yield curve have dissolved, arguing that there was no need to tweak YCC now. But there's high uncertainty over our baseline inflation outlook, so it's premature to tweak monetary policy," he said.

Persons: Seiji Adachi, Adachi, Leika, Shri Navaratnam, Sam Holmes Organizations: Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: KAGOSHIMA, Japan, U.S, Kagoshima

☆ Asia markets set to fall as Wall Street rally cools from last week
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Pedestrians cross a street in front of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, operated by Japan Exchange Group, in Tokyo, Japan. Asia-Pacific markets are set to fall Wednesday, mirroring moves on Wall Street as stocks came back from the Juneteenth holiday to trade lower on Tuesday. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slid 0.42%, leading losses in the region along with the Topix, which fell 0.21%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.21%, and if the losses hold, this would break the index's seven-day winning streak. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index also looks set to extend its losses for a third-straight day, with futures at 19,347 compared to the HSI's close of 19,607.08.

Persons: Kazuo Ueda, Kospi Organizations: Tokyo Stock Exchange, Japan Exchange Group, Nikkei Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Asia, Pacific, Australia

☆ Asia stocks slip as suspense builds for China, Fed news
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The uncertainty kept S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures flat after a slight dip overnight. EUROSTOXX 50 futures edged up 0.2% and FTSE futures 0.1%. A survey showed morale at big Japanese manufacturers edged up in June to stay in positive territory for a second straight month. The currency has been falling for weeks as the Bank of Japan (BOJ) doggedly defended its super easy policies. Oil prices edged higher after a couple of sessions of losses, still struggling with concerns about Chinese demand absent a sizable stimulus package.

Persons: Powell, Jerome Powell, Tapas Strickland, doggedly, BoE, Brent, Wayne Cole, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: SYDNEY, Federal, NAB, Nasdaq, South, Japan's Nikkei, Bank of Japan, Bank of England, JPMorgan, Thomson Locations: Asia, Beijing, Pacific, Japan, South Korea

☆ Yuan slides after China cuts lending benchmarks; Aussie down
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Markets were expecting bigger support and were hoping for a larger LPR cut," said currency strategist Christopher Wong at OCBC. It's probably going to be more targeted," said currency strategist Moh Siong Sim at Bank of Singapore. "The minutes were interpreted by market participants as dovish," said currency strategist Carol Kong at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The yen has come under renewed pressure amid rising interest rate differentials between Japan and other developed markets. Sterling edged 0.06% higher to $1.2798, ahead of British inflation data and the Bank of England's (BoE) interest rate decision later in the week.

Persons: Christopher Wong, Moh Siong Sim, Carol Kong, Min Joo Kang, BoE, Rodrigo Catril, Rae Wee, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Bank of Singapore, Reserve Bank of Australia's, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, New Zealand, Bank of Japan's, ING, South, Central Bank, Sterling, Bank of England's, National Australia Bank, Bank of England, U.S ., Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, China, OCBC, Japan, South Korea

June 21 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was cut to 3.55% and the five-year LPR was cut to 4.20%. The yuan has been trading through 7.00 per dollar every day since May 18, and is now approaching 7.20/dollar. On the Chinese corporate front, investors are digesting the news of changes at the top of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group (9988.HK). The main global event for markets on Wednesday is likely to be Fed Chair Powell's semi-annual testimony to the House Financial Affairs Committee.

Persons: Jamie McGeever, Jerome Powell, Kazuo Ueda, weren't, Daniel Zhang, Eddie Yongming Wu, Joseph Tsai, Deepa Babington Organizations: Federal, Bank of, The Bank of Japan, People's Bank of China, Investors, Alibaba, HK, House Financial, Committee, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Asia, Japan

☆ Japan finmin says no change in FX policy after US report
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Tetsushi Kajimoto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, June 20 (Reuters) - Japan's currency policy won't immediately change after the United States removed the country from its monitoring list, Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Tuesday, noting that the move came in coordination with Washington. "As for currency policy, we'll keep close communications with the United States and other countries," Suzuki told reporters. "The fact that Japan was removed from the list doesn't immediately mean that we would respond in a different way from before or there's any impact." A Treasury official said that Japan was dropped from the monitoring list because it only met one of the three criteria for two monitoring periods in a row. "Currency levels such as the dollar/yen should be determined by markets based on fundamentals and stable moves are desirable," Suzuki said.

Persons: Shunichi Suzuki, we'll, Suzuki, Tetsushi Kajimoto, Kim Coghill, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Finance, Washington, U.S, Treasury, Bank of Japan's, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, United States, Japan, Switzerland, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, Asia

☆ Dollar buoyant; yuan wobbles after China cuts lending benchmarks
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. dollar rose broadly on Tuesday and notched a seven-month high against the yen, while the yuan slipped after China cut two benchmark lending interest rates for the first time in 10 months. The offshore yuan dipped slightly following the decision and was down more than 0.1% at 7.1734 per dollar, languishing near last week's roughly seven-month low. The yen has come under renewed pressure amid rising interest rate differentials between Japan and other developed markets globally. Sterling rose 0.05% to $1.2797, ahead of British inflation data and the Bank of England's interest rate decision later in the week. Against a basket of currencies, the U.S. dollar rose 0.03% to 102.51.

Persons: it's, Rodrigo Catril, Min Joo Kang, Sterling, BoE, NAB's Organizations: U.S, National Australia Bank, NAB, Bank of, ING, South, Reserve Bank of, New Zealand, Central Bank, Bank of England Locations: China, United States, Asia, Japan, South Korea

☆ Japan big manufacturers' sentiment positive for 3rd consecutive month -Reuters tankan
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Tetsushi Kajimoto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The monthly poll suggested there would be a steady recovery in business sentiment in the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) closely watched tankan quarterly survey due next on July 3. The Reuters poll found manufacturers' mood was expected to rise over the coming three months, and service-sector morale would hover above +20. The manufacturers' index was up 11 points compared with three months ago. The service-sector index slipped one point from May to +24 in June, led by information/communications and transport/utilities. Compared with three months ago, the service-sector index was up three points.

Persons: Tetsushi Kajimoto, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Reuters tankan Manufacturers, Reuters, Bank of Japan's, optimists, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Ukraine, Japan, China

The MSCI's broad gauge of world stocks ticked 0.2% higher, (.MIWD00000PUS), with Wall Street markets closed for the Juneteenth holiday. After a week in which the stock market cheered the Fed's decision to skip a rate increase in June, Powell is scheduled to deliver congressional testimony on Wednesday and Thursday. Billions of dollars have flowed into big tech in recent weeks, with analysts citing the productivity-improving potential of artificial intelligence for the rally. "The obvious narrative of AI has dominated this rally in tech stocks," said Dan Cartridge, portfolio manager at Hawksmoor. The 10-year British gilt yield stood at 4.462%, in an inverted yield curve pattern that can precede recessions.

Persons: BoE, Jerome Powell, Powell, Hawksmoor, Hong, HSI, Goldman Sachs, Brent, Naomi Rovnick, Stella Qiu, Tom Hogue, Gerry Doyle, Emma Rumney Organizations: Nikkei, Global, . Federal, Wall, Bank of England, Japan's Nikkei, People's Bank of, Friday's dovish Bank of Japan, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: China, SYDNEY, Europe, U.S, Asia, Beijing, People's Bank of China

The MSCI's broad gauge of world stocks was steady (.MIWD00000PUS), with Wall Street markets closed for the Juneteenth holiday. After a week in which the stock market cheered the Fed's decision to skip a rate increase in June, Powell is scheduled to deliver congressional testimony on Wednesday and Thursday. "The obvious narrative of AI has dominated this rally in tech stocks," said Dan Cartridge, portfolio manager at Hawksmoor. "But a lot of it is also to do with interest rate expectations," he added, warning that the Fed staying hawkish would mean "we quite quickly see valuation compression again." Two-year British government bond yields , which reflect rate expectations, added 6 basis points (bps) to around 4.94% - near last week's 15-year high.

Persons: 25bps, Jerome Powell, Powell, Hawksmoor, Hong, HSI, Goldman Sachs, Brent, Naomi Rovnick, Stella Qiu, Christopher Cushing, Tom Hogue, Gerry Doyle Organizations: of England, Nikkei, Global, . Federal, Wall, Bank of England, Japan's Nikkei, People's Bank of, Friday's dovish Bank of Japan, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: China, SYDNEY, Europe, U.S, Asia, Beijing, People's Bank of China

☆ Dollar drifts as traders weigh rate path; yen fragile
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In an action-packed week of central bank decisions, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday but hinted that further hikes were on the way to tame inflation. Investors, though, expect the central bank to be done with its tightening in July. On Monday, the yen touched a near seven-month low of 141.98 per dollar, having slid 1% on Friday. The yen also touched a fresh 15-year low against the euro of 155.32. The Australian dollar fell 0.32% to $0.686, while the kiwi eased 0.26% to $0.622.

Persons: Marc Chandler, Chandler, Jerome Powell's, Powell, Mansoor Mohi, uddin, Sterling, Ankur Banerjee, Muralikumar Organizations: U.S, Bank of Japan, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of, Investors, Investor, Citi, Bank of Singapore, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Bank of Japan, Bannockburn, New York, Singapore

☆ Asian stocks pause rally, eyeing China stimulus, Powell testimony
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Both S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures were mostly flat after Wall Street's bullish run met resistance on Friday. Cash U.S. Treasuries were untraded due to the Juneteenth holiday, while futures were largely steady. The People's Bank of China is widely expected to cut its benchmark loan prime interest rates on Tuesday, following a similar reduction in medium-term policy loans last week. Several major banks last week cut their growth forecasts for China after the recent disappointing data. U.S. crude futures fell 1.0% to 71.03 per barrel, and Brent crude was down 1.3% at $75.63 per barrel.

Persons: BOE, Jerome Powell's, bullish, HSI, Morgan Stanley, Robin Xing, Antony Blinken, Xi Jinping, POWELL, Powell, Ray Attrill, Brent, Stella Qiu, Christopher Cushing, Tom Hogue Organizations: Nikkei, . Federal, Nasdaq, Cash U.S, Japan's Nikkei, Bank of Japan's, U.S ., People's Bank of, National Australia Bank, The Bank of England, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: China, SYDNEY, Asia, Pacific, Japan, People's Bank of China, .

June 19 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist. Looking ahead and beyond China, investors have two other Asian monetary policy decisions this week to digest - Indonesia's Bank Indonesia (BI) and the Philippines Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Thursday. Both are likely to leave policy unchanged, with BI maintaining its benchmark lending rate at 5.75% and the BSP keeping its key policy rate at 6.25%. The broader market tone across Asia on Monday could be one of caution, with investors tempted to take some profits from the recent rally. The annual core CPI rate is expected to ease to 3.1% from 3.4% in April.

Persons: Jamie McGeever, Antony Blinken's, Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang, Antony Blinken, Leslie Adler Organizations: People's Bank of, Indonesia's Bank Indonesia, Sentral ng Pilipinas, BI, BSP, Bank of Japan, Bank of Korea, Thomson, Reuters Locations: U.S, People's Bank of China, Beijing, American, China, Philippines, Asia, Japan, Hong Kong

The continent-wide European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) index rose 0.5%. The index gained 1.5% in the policy-packed week, its best performance in over two months. China-focused luxury stocks such as LVMH (LVMH.PA) and Richemont (CFR.S) gained nearly 3% each, boosting the broader STOXX 600. Defensive shares such as healthcare (.SXDP) gained 0.9%, and utilities (.SX6P) climbed 1.3% to a four-week peak. The STOXX 600 broke away from a restrictive 1% trading range that was seen for much of the past two weeks, as investors gradually start putting behind major central bank events.

Persons: Travis Perkins, DAX, Germany's DAX, Danni Hewson, AJ Bell, Hewson, Shreyashi Sanyal, Siddarth, Sohini Goswami, Sherry Jacob, Phillips Organizations: European Central Bank, U.S, U.S . Federal, Bank of Japan, Bank of, Britain's, Rheinmetall, Apollo Global Management, Claure Group, Thomson Locations: China, U.S ., Stockholm, Millicom, Bengaluru

But there's very high uncertainty on next year's wage negotiations and the sustainability of wage growth," Governor Kazuo Ueda told a briefing. The BOJ's decision contrasts sharply with that of the European Central Bank, which raised borrowing costs to a 22-year high on Thursday. NOT ENTIRELY DOVISHBank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda speaks at a group interview with media in Tokyo, Japan, May 25, 2023. The yen's recent decline could also heighten calls from politicians for the BOJ to tweak YCC, as it squeezes households and retailers by pushing up raw material import costs. "But it may be forced to act if the yen weakens further and drives up import costs, angering the public.

Persons: Ueda, Kazuo Ueda, Kim Kyung, We've, Izuru Kato, Leika Kihara, Kantaro Komiya, Sam Holmes, Kim Coghill Organizations: Bank of Japan, European Central Bank, U.S . Federal Reserve, REUTERS, Companies, Totan, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Bank, Tokyo, Japan

As widely expected, the BOJ maintained its -0.1% short-term interest rate target and a 0% cap on the 10-year bond yield set under its yield curve control (YCC) policy. The yen fell broadly following the decision and hit a fresh 15-year low of 154.70 per euro and was set for the biggest weekly decline against the single currency in three years. Reuters GraphicsFED FACES GRIM DATAThe ECB's monetary policy decision came a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, snapping a string of 10 consecutive rate hikes. Production at U.S. factories almost stalled in May as manufacturing struggled under the weight of higher interest rates, while U.S. import prices similarly fell last month. Against a basket of currencies , the dollar index edged up 0.03% to 102.17, after slipping to a one-month low on Thursday.

Persons: we're, Kazuo Ueda, Hirofumi Suzuki, Goldman Sachs, Christine Lagarde, Shaun Osborne, Joice Alves, Rae Wee, Philippa Fletcher, Sohini Organizations: LONDON, Bank of Japan, European, Bank's, U.S, ECB, Sterling, Bank of England, Reuters Graphics, U.S . Federal Reserve, Fed, Labor Department, Scotiabank, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, United States, Europe, Toronto, London, Singapore

The BOJ's decision contrasts sharply with that of the European Central Bank, which raised borrowing costs to a 22-year high on Thursday and signalled the likelihood of further hikes. Also this week, the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday signalled it was not yet done with its fight against inflation. As widely expected, the BOJ maintained its -0.1% short-term interest rate target and a 0% cap on the 10-year bond yield set under its yield curve control (YCC) policy. An upgrade to the BOJ's inflation forecast in a quarterly review in July is seen as a done-deal, though central bank officials have said a rise in inflation alone won't automatically trigger a policy shift. Ueda has said solid, sustained wage growth must accompany rising inflation for the BOJ to contemplate a policy tweak.

Persons: Kazuo Ueda's, Ueda's, Shigeto Nagai, Izuru Kato, Shunichi Suzuki, Ueda, Leika Kihara, Kantaro Komiya, Sam Holmes Organizations: Bank of Japan, European Central Bank, U.S . Federal Reserve, Oxford Economics, Totan, Graphics, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Japan

☆ Asia shares near 4-month peak, yen falls as BOJ maintains policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The BOJ rounded up a central bank heavy week, keeping its pledge to "patiently" sustain massive stimulus to ensure Japan sustainably achieves its 2% inflation target accompanied by wage hikes. As widely expected, the BOJ maintained its -0.1% short-term interest rate target and a 0% cap on the 10-year bond yield set under its yield curve control (YCC) policy. Markets are now pricing in 67% chance of the U.S. central bank raising its interest rate by 25 basis points next month, according to CME FedWatch tool. The European Central Bank on Thursday left the door open to more rate hikes as it flagged risks from rising wages and revised up its inflation projections. The ECB also raised interest rates by 25 bps taking its policy rate to 3.5%, a level not seen since 2001.

Persons: DAX, Kazuo Ueda's, Charu, HSI, Ryan Brandham, Lagarde, Brent, Ankur Banerjee, Kim Coghill Organizations: Federal, Bank of Japan, Ueda, Saxo Markets, Nikkei, Nasdaq, Validus Risk Management, European Central Bank, ECB, NatWest Markets, China . U.S . West Texas, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Asia, Pacific, Japan, North America, U.S, China . U.S

☆ Yen falls after BOJ stands pat; hawkish ECB and soft US data dent dollar
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The decision by the BOJ to keep its short-term interest rate target at -0.1% and its 10-year bond yield around 0% was widely expected. Even so, it was enough to pressure the yen further with the Japanese currency falling about 0.3% against the dollar to 140.72 . That and a run of soft U.S. economic data saw the dollar fall broadly as traders scaled back their bets on how high U.S. interest rates would need to rise. The euro stood near a one-month high at $1.0937, having surged over 1% on Thursday following the rate hike and hawkish forward guidance from the ECB. Production at U.S. factories almost stalled in May as manufacturing struggled under the weight of higher interest rates, while U.S. import prices similarly fell last month.

Persons: Christine Lagarde, Sterling, Rae Wee, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Bank of Japan, European Central Bank, ECB, Deutsche Bank, Bank of England, U.S . Federal Reserve, Fed, Labor Department, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Asia, United States

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