USD/JPY bounces back to near 156.00 despite firm BoJ rate hike bets
- USD/JPY rebounds to near 156.00 even as the BoJ is expected to raise interest rates next week.
- BoJ’s Ueda stated last week that there is uncertainty on how much the central bank can raise interest rates further.
- This week, the Fed lowered interest rates by 25 bps to 3.50%-3.75%.
The USD/JPY pair snaps a two-day losing streak and rebounds to near 156.00 during the European trading session on Friday. The pair attracts bids as the Japanese Yen (JPY) underperforms across the board, despite traders remaining confident that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will raise interest rates in its monetary policy meeting next week.
Japanese Yen Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of Japanese Yen (JPY) against listed major currencies today. Japanese Yen was the weakest against the Canadian Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.12% | 0.14% | 0.23% | -0.09% | -0.03% | 0.00% | 0.07% | |
| EUR | -0.12% | 0.02% | 0.11% | -0.21% | -0.15% | -0.09% | -0.05% | |
| GBP | -0.14% | -0.02% | 0.08% | -0.23% | -0.17% | -0.12% | -0.07% | |
| JPY | -0.23% | -0.11% | -0.08% | -0.30% | -0.25% | -0.23% | -0.15% | |
| CAD | 0.09% | 0.21% | 0.23% | 0.30% | 0.05% | 0.08% | 0.16% | |
| AUD | 0.03% | 0.15% | 0.17% | 0.25% | -0.05% | 0.03% | 0.10% | |
| NZD | -0.00% | 0.09% | 0.12% | 0.23% | -0.08% | -0.03% | 0.06% | |
| CHF | -0.07% | 0.05% | 0.07% | 0.15% | -0.16% | -0.10% | -0.06% |
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).
The major reason behind firm BoJ hawkish bets is expectations that inflation in Japan is on tract to return sustainably to the 2% target.
Last week, BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda stated that the central bank will continue raising interest rates, however, there is “uncertainty on how far we can eventually raise them”.
The pair recovers even as the US Dollar (USD) is under pressure since the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. In the policy meeting, the Fed reduced interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) to 3.50%-3.75% and signaled that there will be one more in 2026. Contrary to Fed’s outlook, investors anticipated before the policy outcome that the Fed will signal no further interest rate cuts.
Going forward, investors will focus on the United States (US) Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for November, which will be released on Tuesday. On the same day, investors will also focus on the Retail Sales data for November and preliminary S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data for December.
Investors will closely monitor the employment data to get cues about the current status of labour demand.
Fed FAQs
Monetary policy in the US is shaped by the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed has two mandates: to achieve price stability and foster full employment. Its primary tool to achieve these goals is by adjusting interest rates. When prices are rising too quickly and inflation is above the Fed’s 2% target, it raises interest rates, increasing borrowing costs throughout the economy. This results in a stronger US Dollar (USD) as it makes the US a more attractive place for international investors to park their money. When inflation falls below 2% or the Unemployment Rate is too high, the Fed may lower interest rates to encourage borrowing, which weighs on the Greenback.
The Federal Reserve (Fed) holds eight policy meetings a year, where the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) assesses economic conditions and makes monetary policy decisions. The FOMC is attended by twelve Fed officials – the seven members of the Board of Governors, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and four of the remaining eleven regional Reserve Bank presidents, who serve one-year terms on a rotating basis.
In extreme situations, the Federal Reserve may resort to a policy named Quantitative Easing (QE). QE is the process by which the Fed substantially increases the flow of credit in a stuck financial system. It is a non-standard policy measure used during crises or when inflation is extremely low. It was the Fed’s weapon of choice during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008. It involves the Fed printing more Dollars and using them to buy high grade bonds from financial institutions. QE usually weakens the US Dollar.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse process of QE, whereby the Federal Reserve stops buying bonds from financial institutions and does not reinvest the principal from the bonds it holds maturing, to purchase new bonds. It is usually positive for the value of the US Dollar.
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