USD/JPY tumbles below 150.00 as Yen outperforms across the board
- USD/JPY slumps below 150.00 amid sheer strength in the Japanese Yen on bloating BoJ hawkish bets.
- Investors expect US President Trump’s tariff agenda to be less disruptive.
- The US Dollar falls after failing to hold Monday’s gains that were driven by upbeat flash S&P Global Services PMI data for March.
The USD/JPY pair falls significantly to near 149.70 during North American trading hours on Tuesday. The pair tumbles as the Japanese Yen (JPY) outperforms its peers on expectations that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will raise interest rates again this year.
BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda signaled on Monday that monetary policy adjustments would become appropriate if the central bank achieves its 2% inflation target. Meanwhile, optimism on more wage hikes has also boosted BoJ hawkish bets. Last week, Japan's largest trade union group, Rengo, showed that firms agreed to raise pay growth by 5.4% this year.
Japanese Yen PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of the Japanese Yen (JPY) against listed major currencies today. Japanese Yen was the strongest against the US Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.06% | -0.13% | -0.58% | -0.07% | -0.42% | -0.15% | -0.23% | |
| EUR | 0.06% | -0.07% | -0.53% | -0.02% | -0.33% | -0.10% | -0.18% | |
| GBP | 0.13% | 0.07% | -0.47% | 0.06% | -0.26% | -0.02% | -0.15% | |
| JPY | 0.58% | 0.53% | 0.47% | 0.51% | 0.21% | 0.43% | 0.34% | |
| CAD | 0.07% | 0.02% | -0.06% | -0.51% | -0.30% | -0.08% | -0.21% | |
| AUD | 0.42% | 0.33% | 0.26% | -0.21% | 0.30% | 0.24% | 0.14% | |
| NZD | 0.15% | 0.10% | 0.02% | -0.43% | 0.08% | -0.24% | -0.13% | |
| CHF | 0.23% | 0.18% | 0.15% | -0.34% | 0.21% | -0.14% | 0.13% |
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).
Meanwhile, the US Dollar (USD) declines sharply as investors expect United States (US) President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda would be less impactful than previously anticipated. Trump said on Monday that he may give a "lot of countries" breaks on tariffs. The limited scope of the tariff war diminishes the safe-haven appeal of the US Dollar. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, falls sharply to near 104.00 after failing to extend its upside above 104.50.
On Monday, the US Dollar gained sharply after the release of the flash S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data for March, which showed that robust service sector activity contributed significantly to a strong uptick in the Composite PMI. The Service PMI, which accounts for activities in the services sector, came in at 54.3, significantly higher than estimates of 51.2 and 51.0.
This week, investors will focus on the US Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index (PCE) data for February, which will be published on Friday. Investors will pay close attention to the inflation data as it is the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) preferred inflation gauge and will likely influence market speculation for the monetary policy outlook.
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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