USD/JPY slides to near 151.50 as Japanese Yen strengthens on robust GDP growth
- USD/JPY falls sharply to near 151.40 as Yen performs strongly across the board on upbeat Q4 Japan GDP data.
- Flash Q4 Japan’s GDP data showed that the economy expanded by 0.7%.
- A delay in Trump’s reciprocal tariff plan and poor Retail Sales data would keep the US Dollar on the backfoot.
The USD/JPY pair slumps to near 151.40 in Monday’s North American session. The asset tumbles as the Japanese Yen (JPY) strengthens across the board after the release of the flash Q4 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data, which showed that the economy surprisingly expanded at a robust pace.
Japanese Yen PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of Japanese Yen (JPY) against listed major currencies today. Japanese Yen was the strongest against the Euro.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.20% | -0.03% | -0.53% | 0.07% | -0.23% | -0.27% | 0.18% | |
| EUR | -0.20% | -0.08% | -0.76% | -0.03% | -0.34% | -0.36% | 0.08% | |
| GBP | 0.03% | 0.08% | -0.57% | 0.05% | -0.21% | -0.28% | 0.16% | |
| JPY | 0.53% | 0.76% | 0.57% | 0.59% | 0.33% | 0.47% | 0.68% | |
| CAD | -0.07% | 0.03% | -0.05% | -0.59% | -0.28% | -0.33% | 0.11% | |
| AUD | 0.23% | 0.34% | 0.21% | -0.33% | 0.28% | -0.02% | 0.43% | |
| NZD | 0.27% | 0.36% | 0.28% | -0.47% | 0.33% | 0.02% | 0.44% | |
| CHF | -0.18% | -0.08% | -0.16% | -0.68% | -0.11% | -0.43% | -0.44% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Japanese Yen from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent JPY (base)/USD (quote).
Japanese Cabinet Office reported that the economy expanded at a robust pace of 0.7%, against 0.4% growth seen in the third quarter of 2024. Economists expected the GDP data to have grown by 0.3%.
On an annualized basis, the economy rose strongly by 2.8% compared to the same quarter of the previous year and faster than the 1.7% growth seen in the July-September period. Upbeat GDP data is expected to boost the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) hawkish bets.
Meanwhile, the US Dollar (USD) finds ground temporarily after facing a sharp sell-off last week. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, gauges cushion near 106.60 after posting a fresh two-month low.
However, investors are cautious over the USD’s outlook as United States (US) President Donald Trump has not unveiled a detailed reciprocal tariff plan, while he was expected to do so on Thursday.
Above that, poor Retail Sales data for January has also weighed on the US Dollar. The Retail Sales data, a key measure of consumer spending, declined at a robust pace of 0.9%.
Japanese Yen FAQs
The Japanese Yen (JPY) is one of the world’s most traded currencies. Its value is broadly determined by the performance of the Japanese economy, but more specifically by the Bank of Japan’s policy, the differential between Japanese and US bond yields, or risk sentiment among traders, among other factors.
One of the Bank of Japan’s mandates is currency control, so its moves are key for the Yen. The BoJ has directly intervened in currency markets sometimes, generally to lower the value of the Yen, although it refrains from doing it often due to political concerns of its main trading partners. The BoJ ultra-loose monetary policy between 2013 and 2024 caused the Yen to depreciate against its main currency peers due to an increasing policy divergence between the Bank of Japan and other main central banks. More recently, the gradually unwinding of this ultra-loose policy has given some support to the Yen.
Over the last decade, the BoJ’s stance of sticking to ultra-loose monetary policy has led to a widening policy divergence with other central banks, particularly with the US Federal Reserve. This supported a widening of the differential between the 10-year US and Japanese bonds, which favored the US Dollar against the Japanese Yen. The BoJ decision in 2024 to gradually abandon the ultra-loose policy, coupled with interest-rate cuts in other major central banks, is narrowing this differential.
The Japanese Yen is often seen as a safe-haven investment. This means that in times of market stress, investors are more likely to put their money in the Japanese currency due to its supposed reliability and stability. Turbulent times are likely to strengthen the Yen’s value against other currencies seen as more risky to invest in.
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