Yen exchange rate today
The Japanese Yen (JPY) continued to fluctuate around the bottom of the day against the USD, despite short recoveries, as the market was both worried and hopeful before escalating US trade tensions and cooling inflation signals in Japan.
The USD/JPY exchange rate this morning was trading around 146.40-146.50, slightly fluctuating in the context of investors being cautious about the trade storm and the upcoming monetary policy roadmap.
The downward trend is still present as the US trade war escalates
US President Donald Trump has just announced a series of new tariffs from 20%-50% for eight countries from August 1 and threatened to impose a tax of up to 200% on pharmaceuticals, causing investors to worry about negative impacts on the global economy, while activating safe-haven purchases in the Yen.
However, the USD maintained its upward momentum as US bond yields were stable, causing the USD/JPY pair to increase by more than 60 pip from 145.75, although the overall trend was still quite cautious.
Data released this morning showed that Japan's producer price index (PPI) fell 0.2% in June and rose 2.9% year-on-year, down from 3.3% in May, showing deflationary pressures are cooling down.
Previously, real wages in Japan fell for the third consecutive month and recorded the sharpest decline in 20 months, making the market believe that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will find it difficult to raise interest rates this year.
Not only that, the latest surveys show that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's ruling coalition may not hold a majority in the Senate election on July 20, increasing political instability and somewhat limiting the strength of the Yen.
Meanwhile, the minutes of the Fed's June meeting signaled that interest rate cuts may be appropriate this year, and said that the price shock from tariffs may only be temporary. This makes it impossible for the USD to increase strongly, maintaining a state of tug-of-war with the Yen.
