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☆ Volatile yen keeps markets on edge as intervention risks swirl
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A sheet of newly-designed Japanese 10,000 yen banknotes at the National Printing Bureau Tokyo plant in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, June 28, 2023. The Japanese currency swung between gains and losses in early trading before trading slightly weaker. It spiked nearly 3% to as high as 157.40 immediately after the consumer inflation report on Thursday. "Currency interventions should certainty be rare in a floating rate market, but we'll need to respond appropriately to excessive volatility or disorderly moves," Kanda said. Tokyo intervened at the end of April and in early May, spending roughly 9.8 trillion yen ($61.55 billion) to support the currency.

Persons: Masato Kanda, Kanda, It's, Siong Sim, Charu Chanana, Matt Simpson, Menon, Donald Trump, Sterling Organizations: National Printing Bureau, Asahi, Nikkei, Bank of Singapore, U.S, CPI, Saxo, Federal Reserve, City, Traders, Presidential, Trump Locations: National Printing Bureau Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, U.S

☆ Yen sinks as currency traders keep short and carry on
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The yen is the worst-performing G10 currency this year, with a 6.4% slide on the dollar. For the week the yen is down 0.6% on the euro, touching its weakest for three months overnight at 163.45 per euro . Yen moves against the dollar were more modest due to the risk its slide could prompt intervention in markets from Japan, with officials reminding traders they stand ready in recent days. The dollar gained 0.1% to trade at 150.41 yen this week. Investors can earn interest, or carry, by borrowing yen around 0% and buying income-bearing assets in other currencies.

Persons: Moh Siong Sim, Sterling, Christine Lagarde, Christopher Waller Organizations: New, Deutsche, Britain, of Singapore, U.S, European Central Bank Locations: Japan, New Zealand, Friday's Asia, U.S, Europe

☆ Dollar shakes off weakness after investors rethink Fed outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The pound eased back from Tuesday's two-month highs after data showed British inflation ran at its slowest pace in two years in October, at 4.6%. On Tuesday, the pound rose by 1.8% against the dollar, marking its biggest one-day gain in a year. The offshore Chinese yuan, meanwhile, received some support The offshore yuan , meanwhile, briefly ticked up to a three-month high of $7.2385 against the dollar after domestic industrial output and retail sales growth beat expectations. Evidence of ongoing weakness in China's property sector, where data showed sales fell faster in October and investment in real estate slumped, took some of the shine off the rally. The offshore yuan was last at 7.2577 per dollar, down 0.1% on the day.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Michael Hewson, Sterling, Moh Siong Sim, Brigid Riley, Shri Navaratnam, Lincoln, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Federal Reserve, Investors, Bank of England, Markets, Bank of Singapore, Thomson Locations: Britain, Tuesday's, York

☆ Dollar down as markets bet Fed done with hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Brigid Riley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The offshore yuan briefly ticked up to a three-month high of $7.2385 against the dollar before easing back somewhat to $7.2477. The New Zealand dollar , which can act as a proxy for China, ticked up to a one-month high of $0.6029 against the dollar. Traders reacted quickly to the shift in market pricing by sending the dollar tumbling 1.5% overnight against major currencies. The dollar index , which measures the currency against a basket of peers, last stood at 104.14, not far from Tuesday's two-month low of 103.98. With the dollar on the back foot, the euro settled around $1.08725 after touching its highest since August the previous day.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Rob Carnell, Carnell, Moh Siong Sim, Brigid Riley, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Federal Reserve, of Research, ING, New Zealand, Traders, Treasury, Bank of Singapore, Thomson Locations: Asia, China, U.S, Lincoln

☆ Yen gets reprieve as dollar dented by private payrolls report
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Brigid Riley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Banknotes of Japanese yen and U.S. dollar are seen in this illustration picture taken September 23, 2022. Having come off its nearly 11-month high, the dollar index , which tracks the greenback against six peers, held near overnight levels, settling at around 106.55. Longer dated U.S. Treasury yields eased from 16-year highs after the data and remained lower in the Asian day. Besides the lower U.S. Treasury yields, the yen also drew support from an overnight drop in oil prices, said Kyle Rodda, markets analyst at Capital.com, though he added that it was likely to be a "short-term reprieve." The Australian dollar fetched $0.63655 , up over 0.6%, while the kiwi was up around 0.5% to $0.59445 against the greenback.

Persons: Florence Lo, Moh Siong Sim, Shunichi Suzuki, Kyle Rodda, Rodda, Brigid Riley, Gerry Doyle, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Rights, Treasury, Federal Reserve, ADP, Bank of Singapore, Bank of, Japan, Finance, Japanese Finance Ministry, Sterling, Australian, greenback Locations: U.S, Bank of Japan, Tokyo, OPEC

☆ Yen gets some relief as dollar pulls back after private payrolls report
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Brigid Riley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Banknotes of Japanese yen and U.S. dollar are seen in this illustration picture taken September 23, 2022. The dollar index , which tracks the greenback against six peers, held near overnight levels at 106.53. Longer dated U.S. Treasury yields eased from 16-year highs after the data and remained lower in the Asian morning. Elsewhere, the euro was up 0.18% so far in Asia at $1.0524 , keeping above this week's fresh low of $1.0448. The Australian dollar fetched $0.6361 , up over 0.5% in early trade, while the kiwi similarly ticked up 0.5% to $0.5943 against the greenback.

Persons: Florence Lo, Moh Siong Sim, Shunichi Suzuki, Kyle Rodda, Sterling, Brigid Riley, Gerry Doyle, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Rights, Treasury, Federal Reserve, ADP, Bank of Singapore, Bank of, Japan, Finance, Australian, greenback, Thomson Locations: U.S, Bank of Japan, Tokyo, Asia

☆ Yen falls after BOJ stands pat on easy policy; dollar elevated
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Banknotes of Japanese yen and U.S. dollar are seen in this illustration picture taken September 23, 2022. The yen last bought 148.09 per U.S. dollar. Sterling similarly eked out a 0.3% gain against the Japanese currency to trade at 181.80 yen. "I guess people were expecting the BOJ to leave policy unchanged but perhaps tweak the wording a bit to remove the accommodative stance." The New Zealand dollar edged 0.08% higher to $0.5936 and was eyeing a weekly gain of more than 0.5%.

Persons: Florence Lo, Kazuo Ueda, Sterling, Siong Sim, Shunichi Suzuki, Ray Sharma, Ong, BoE, Daniela Hathorn, Rae Wee, Christopher Cushing Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Rights, Bank of Japan, Bank of Singapore, Treasury, Federal Reserve, Japan's Finance, New Zealand, Fed, Bank of England, Capital.com, Thomson Locations: Rights SINGAPORE

☆ Dollar rises ahead of Jackson Hole, Turkish lira rallies
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Joice Alves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/file photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - The dollar rose on Thursday as investors awaited for U.S. job data ahead of the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole symposium, while the Turkish lira rallied after a larger-than-expected central bank rate hike. Investors were cautious after softer-than expected data in Europe and the U.S. muddied the economic outlook sending the safe-haven dollar higher. "As the Jackson Hole symposium gets under way, market participants are looking for direction," said Isabel Albarran, Investment Officer at Close Brothers Asset Management. MORE COULD COMEElsewhere, the Turkish lira rallied, up 3% to 26.4040 against the dollar after the Turkish Central Bank hiked the 1-week repo from 17.5% to a much-larger-than expected 25%. Turkey's central bank embarked on a tightening cycle in June after President Tayyip Erdogan appointed former Wall Street banker Hafize Gaye Erkan as governor.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jackson, Jerome Powell, Isabel Albarran, Tayyip Erdogan, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Piotr Matys, Moh Siong Sim, China's, Joice Alves, Tom Westbrook, Ankur Banerjee, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Federal, Turkish, U.S, Investors, Investment, Asset Management, Turkish Central Bank, Wall Street, Touch Capital, British, Bank of England, PMI, Singapore, Thomson Locations: Europe, London

☆ Dollar gains, crosses key 145 yen level
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Herbert Lash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Japanese yen and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen with a currency exchange rate graph in this illustration picture taken June 16, 2022. In the 12 months through July, the PPI rose 0.8% after a 0.2% gain the prior month. Prior to the inflation data, that chance was already above 85%. The stronger dollar led the yen to briefly touch 145.03 in late afternoon trade, its highest since June 30. Japan intervened in currency markets last September when the dollar rose past 145 yen, which prompted the Finance Ministry to buy the yen and push the pair back to around 140 yen.

Persons: Florence Lo, Thierry Wizman, Wizman, Everyone's, Marvin Loh, Loh, Moh Siong Sim, Herbert Lash, Alun John, Ankur Banerjee, Kirsten Donovan, William Maclean, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Federal, PPI, Labor Department, Treasury, Singapore, Finance Ministry, Swiss, Thomson Locations: Macquarie, New York, Boston, Japan, London, Singapore

☆ Dollar set for fourth week of gains, climbs back towards 145 yen
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Japanese yen and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen with a currency exchange rate graph in this illustration picture taken June 16, 2022. "You should expect the rhetoric once yen gets to 145," said Bank of Singapore currency strategist Moh Siong Sim. Japan intervened in currency markets last September when the dollar rose past 145 yen, which prompted the Ministry of Finance to buy the yen and push the pair back to around 140 yen. Prior to the inflation data, that chance was already above 85%. ,The Australian dollar rose 0.12% to $0.652.

Persons: Florence Lo, Moh Siong Sim, Francesco Pesole, Ankur Banerjee, Alun John, David Evans, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Federal, Bank of Japan, Singapore, Ministry of Finance, ING, Swiss, Thomson Locations: Japan, Washington, Frankfurt, Beijing, Singapore, London

☆ Dollar set for fourth week of gains, inflation cements rate outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Japanese yen and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen with a currency exchange rate graph in this illustration picture taken June 16, 2022. The pound was last up 0.3% at $1.2711, but was still heading for a fourth weekly drop. Data on Thursday showed U.S. consumer inflation rose 0.2% last month, matching the gain in June, and by 3.2% in the 12 months through July. The dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against six others, fell 0.1% to 102.50, but was still set for a fourth weekly gain, thanks in part to a rise in Treasury yields. The dollar fell against the euro , which rose 0.1% to $1.0995 and against the Australian dollar , which rose 0.14% to $0652.

Persons: Florence Lo, Moh Siong Sim, Nick Rees, Mary Daly, Ankur Banerjee, Shri Navaratnam, Simon Cameron, Moore, David Evans Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Federal, Bank of Japan, Singapore, Ministry of Finance, Reuters, CPI, FX, Monex, San Francisco Fed, Thomson Locations: Japan, Monex Europe, U.S, Singapore

☆ Reactions to Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 28 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan maintained ultra-low interest rates on Friday but took steps to make its yield curve control policy more flexible, underscoring growing concerns over the rising side- effects of prolonged monetary easing. It also maintained guidance allowing the 10-year yield to move 0.5% around the 0% target, but said those would be "references" rather than "rigid limits". The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield remained at 0.5%, the BOJ's policy ceiling under YCC. "We maintain our view the BOJ will keep its ultra-easy monetary policy settings unchanged this year, and expect USD/JPY to remain solid at 140 by the end of this quarter." MOH SIONG SIM, CURRENCY STRATEGIST, BANK OF SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE"By the time the decision come in, we're not surprised given the overnight Nikkei report.

Persons: CAROL KONG, we're, It's, they're, MATT SIMPSON, Subhranshu Organizations: Bank of Japan, Japan's Nikkei, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF, BANK OF SINGAPORE, Nikkei, Thomson Locations: SYDNEY, SINGAPORE, BRISBANE

☆ Instant View: China's Q2 GDP growth slows to 0.8% q/q, raises stimulus expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

"Consumers are not spending, mainly driven by the bleak outlook for the property market. Disappointing retail numbers and property market sales show it doesn't seem that the boost from rate cuts is sufficient. ..the property market is beginning another slowdown - the government will have to come up with more stimulus for property." "Nonetheless, we think more stimulus is required to stabilise and restore confidence in the property market." ZHIWEI ZHANG, CHIEF ECONOMIST, PINPOINT ASSET MANAGEMENT, HONG KONG"Nominal GDP growth turns out to be lower than real GDP growth in Q2, the first time since comparable data are available in Q4 2016.

Persons: CHRISTOPHER WONG, LOUIS KUIJS, CAROL KONG, XING ZHAOPENG, KEN CHEUNG, ALVIN TAN, VISHNU VARATHAN, MARCO SUN, CHEN, TONY SYCAMORE, ZHIWEI ZHANG, JING LIU Organizations: Gross, National Bureau, Statistics, Shanghai, NBS, BANK OF, ANZ, MIZUHO BANK, OF, OF ASIA FX, RBC, MUFG BANK, IG, SYDNEY, Friday's, BANK OF SINGAPORE, HSBC, stoke, Authorities, Reuters, U.S, Thomson Locations: U.S, SINGAPORE, ASIA, HONG KONG, SYDNEY, CHINA, SHANGHAI, OF ASIA, China

[1/2] U.S. dollars are counted out by a banker counting currency at a bank in Westminster, Colorado November 3, 2009. Markets are now focusing their attention on U.S. consumer prices data due out on Wednesday, which will provide more clarity on the progress the Fed has made in its fight against stubbornly high inflation. The pound has been rallying on a stronger economy and aggressive repricing of expectations for tighter BoE policy, according to Danske Bank FX analyst Kirstine Kundby-Nielsen. "There have been no signs of relief in the labour market data and markets continue to price in more. Given the rising inflation backdrop in Japan, the market is starting to become more wary that perhaps a policy tweak could come."

Persons: Rick Wilking, Shaun Osborne, Kirstine Kundby, That's, Kundby, Nielsen, Moh Siong Sim, Samuel Indyk, Rae Wee, Edmund Klamann, Alex Richardson, Chizu Organizations: REUTERS, Federal, Scotiabank . Markets, Sterling, Bank of England, Danske Bank, Nielsen, Swiss, greenback, Swiss National Bank, Singapore, Bank of Japan, New Zealand, Reserve Bank of New, Thomson Locations: Westminster , Colorado, U.S, Norwegian, Swedish, Swiss, Japan, Reserve Bank of New Zealand

U.S. interest rate expectations have been a key driver of the dollar since the Fed began its tightening cycle last year. A survey from the New York Federal Reserve on Monday showed waning near-term inflation expectations among Americans, who said last month they were expecting the weakest near-term inflation gains in just over two years. Sterling , meanwhile, hit a near 15-month high of $1.2913 after British wage growth hit a joint record high, heaping pressure on the Bank of England to tighten policy further to bring inflation under control. The pound has been rallying on a stronger economy and aggressive repricing of expectations for tighter BoE policy, according to Danske Bank FX analyst Kirstine Kundby-Nielsen. Elsewhere, the euro rose 0.1% to $1.1012, the Australian dollar steadied at $0.6680, while the New Zealand dollar fell 0.2% to $0.6198.

Persons: Rick Wilking, Shaun Osborne, Sterling, Kirstine Kundby, That's, Kundby, Nielsen, Moh Siong Sim, Samuel Indyk, Rae Wee, Shri Navaratnam, Edmund Klamann, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, Federal, Fed, Scotiabank . Markets, New York Federal Reserve, Bank of England, Danske Bank, Nielsen, Singapore, Bank of Japan, New Zealand, Thomson Locations: Westminster , Colorado, U.S, . U.S, Japan, China's

☆ China starts to slow yuan's one-way slide
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Analysts said that together the moves showed official unease at the yuan's downward momentum and that they could slow but perhaps not halt a decline, given the dour economic outlook. "They are sending more signals now they're uncomfortable ... they would like to slow the yuan weakness," said Moh Siong Sim, a currency strategist at Bank of Singapore. The yuan ended Monday at a seven-month low of 7.2425 per dollar and was at 7.2105 in Tuesday afternoon trade. BACK FOOTThe push back comes as investors sour on China, with data showing China's vaunted rebound faltering. Analysts said moves to halt the yuan's slide were not yet as firm as last year, when regulators rolled out measures to encourage capital inflows, but might be enough to slow selling.

Persons: Yuan, Siong Sim, Stocks, Alvin Tan, We've, Rob Carnell, Carnell, That's, Ankur Banerjee, Tom Westbrook, Rae Wee, Vidya Ranganathan, Kim Coghill, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: People's Bank of China, Analysts, Bank of Singapore, UBS, Australian, Asia FX, RBC Capital Markets, Beijing, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, BEIJING, China, Hong Kong, Asia, Shanghai, Singapore

☆ 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

☆ Dollar eases as chances for a U.S. rate rise ebb
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) - The dollar dipped on Wednesday as chances faded for a rate hike next week by the Federal Reserve, while the Canadian dollar touched one-month highs as traders amped up bets for the country to raise rates and the Turkish lira hit record lows. "Over the last month or so, we've seen the market slowly pricing out the risks of a 2023 interest rate cut. Nonetheless, traders were attaching a higher chance that the BoC would raise Canadian interest rates again later on Wednesday. Against the dollar, sterling rose 0.3% to $1.2456, while the Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 139.40 and the euro rose 0.2% to $1.0718. Elsewhere, the Turkish lira slid as much as 7.6% to a record low of 23.16 per U.S. dollar.

Persons: Philip Lowe, Jane Foley, we've, Foley, Siong Sim, bitcoin, Coinbase, Binance, Zhao, Binance's, Rae Wee, Clarence Fernandez, William Maclean Organizations: Federal Reserve, Australian, Reserve Bank, U.S ., Rabobank, BoC, U.S, Canadian, Fed, Bank of Singapore, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Thomson Locations: U.S, CHINA, China, Turkish, Singapore

A flood of inflation data releases were also mixed. The International Monetary Fund called on the ECB on Friday to keep raising interest rates until the middle of 2024 to help bring down high inflation. Versus the yen , the euro briefly rose to its highest level since December 2014 at 149.50. It was last up 1.2% at 149.35 yen after the BOJ left its ultra-easy monetary policy unchanged even as it scrapped a pledge to keep interest rates low. However, the central bank removed a pledge to keep interest rates at "current or lower levels" and said it would "conduct a broad-perspective review of monetary policy".

☆ Tech drags Hong Kong stocks, dollar squeezed as US inflation slows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SINGAPORE, April 13 (Reuters) - Asian stocks struggled on Thursday, dragged by selling in Hong Kong tech shares, while the dollar was under pressure and short-dated bonds were firm as softening U.S. inflation seemed to suggest the U.S. rate hike cycle was nearing its end. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) slid 0.3%, largely pressured by a 1.5% drop in Hong Kong tech stocks (.HSTECH) in the wake of the Financial Times reporting SoftBank was selling down its Alibaba stake. Alibaba shares (9988.HK) were down 3% in early trade and SoftBank (9434.T) shares flat and neither immediately responded to Reuters enquiries. Elsewhere oil prices held sharp gains made in the wake of the inflation data, with Brent crude futures steady at $87.22 a barrel. Shares of embattled Chinese property developer Sunac China (1918.HK) resumed trade after a more than year-long suspension in Hong Kong, with the company in the midst of a debt restructure.

☆ Dollar mired near two-month low; Kiwi gains on RBNZ surprise
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The kiwi rallied 1% to touch a two-month high of $0.6383 after the decision. The dollar index , which measures the currency against six peers, eased to a fresh two-month low of 101.43, after dropping 0.5% overnight. Markets were pricing in a 43% chance of Fed not raising interest rates a day earlier. "And the Fed may have to perhaps do more and keep rates high for longer." The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was up 1.3 basis points to 3.350%, having slipped 9 basis points overnight.

☆ Instant view: Incoming BOJ chief Ueda says current low rates appropriate
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Incoming Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Friday it was appropriate to maintain ultra-loose monetary policy as inflation has yet to sustainably and steadily meet the central bank's 2% target. "I think he's intentionally doing that, so that the market will calm down a little bit about policy change expectations." "I don't think Ueda has the same stance as (Haruhiko) Kuroda but it is not clear whether Ueda would tweak the BOJ policy as the market expected." CHARU CHANANA, MARKET STRATEGIST, SAXO MARKETS, SINGAPORE"No surprises there, we expected Ueda to take it slow and he's starting off echoing Kuroda's views. He has been out of touch with the BOJ policy making since 2005 and will take time even if he was to consider policy normalisation at some stage."

☆ Analysis: Japan's yen feels the heat from hard-line BOJ policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Speculators have looked instead to the yen, an easier target where their bets on BOJ policy have induced massive swings and historic levels of volatility. BIGGER YEN BETSAnalysts expect bets on the BOJ soon abandoning its yield curve control policy will get bigger and louder, for a number of reasons. James Athey, an investment director at fund manager abrdn, has held a long position on the yen for a while. We had a significant overweight on the Japanese yen, (and) in the aftermath, we took profit on some of our yen position," Athey said. "The debate around the future of BOJ policy is far from settled," said Howard Smith, partner and portfolio manager at Indus Japan Strategies.

☆ Yen plunges as BOJ sticks to ultra-easy policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Since then, speculation had swirled that the BOJ could tweak its yield curve control (YCC) policy further or even scrap it. At a two-day policy meeting, the BOJ kept intact its YCC targets, set at -0.1% for short-term interest rates and around 0% for the 10-year yield, by a unanimous vote. The Australian dollar gained 2.2% and Singapore dollar rose 1.9%. The 10-year yield has repeatedly breached the ceiling in the past four sessions. The Australian dollar rose mostly flat, while the kiwi rose 0.30% at $0.645.

☆ Bank of Japan keeps yield control policy unchanged
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

MARKET REACTION:The Japanese stock market cheered the BOJ's decision with the Nikkei share average (.N225) jumping more than 2% after the midday break. Therefore, among equities, we think Japanese financials sector will have a rerating of valuations over the next 3-6 months." That could escalate when the new governor of the bank will be announced and towards the policy meeting in March." MOH SIONG SIM, CURRENCY STRATEGIST, BANK OF SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE"The can has been kicked down the road and the attention will shift to the next meeting. CHARU CHANANA, MARKET STRATEGIST, SAXO MARKETS, SINGAPORE:"I think the speculations will still continue.

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