The Japanese Yen (JPY) is strong, up 0.6% against the US Dollar (USD) and outperforming all of the G10 currencies as market participants respond to this weekend’s upper house election result, Scotiabank's Chief FX Strategists Shaun Osborne and Eric Theoret report.
"PM Ishiba’s ruling coalition lost its majority but the prime minister has vowed to stay on, offering markets some reassurance as they seek to assess the implications for Japan’s fiscal outlook. Local markets are closed, leaving Japanese bond yields flat, and yield spreads are narrowing in a JPY-supportive manner as a result of softer US yields."
"The options market is moving in the yen’s favor and pricing a slightly higher premium for protection against upside risk. For USDJPY, we look to near-term weakness given signs of a pullback from the upper end of the 142-148.50 range."