Yen exchange rate today
According to Lao Dong, on July 4, the Japanese Yen (JPY) continued to be bought, combined with the weakening of the USD, pulling the USD/JPY pair down to 144.25144.20, the lowest level of the day.
Previously, Japan's Household Spending data released this morning showed a 4.7% increase in May compared to the same period last year, surpassing even the most optimistic forecasts, thereby raising expectations that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will soon raise interest rates.
Yen appreciates thanks to shelter demand
According to FXStreet, uncertainties related to US President Donald Trump's policies continue to boost safe-haven demand for the Yen.
The White House has recently threatened to impose additional tariffs on Japanese goods over concerns that the country is unwilling to buy US rice, raising trade tensions and could hinder the BoJ's efforts to normalize monetary policy.
On the other hand, US employment data released on Thursday showed the economy created 147,000 more jobs in June, higher than the forecast and the increase in the previous month, while the unemployment rate decreased slightly to 4.1%.
This result shows that the US labor market remains stable, allowing the US Federal Reserve (Fed) to continue to maintain a "wait and see" stance on uncertainties related to Mr. Trump's trade policy.
However, US wage inflation has fallen to 3.7%, below the forecast of 3.9%, along with concerns about the increased burden of public debt as the US Congress has just passed a bill to cut taxes and increase spending, expected to increase the budget deficit by 3.4 trillion USD in the next 10 years, which is holding back the stronger increase of the USD.
