BOJ Uncertainty Boosts Yen

 February 19th, 2013 at 15:18

Some yen notes and coinsYen is higher today, thanks to some of the uncertainty surrounding what will happen next with the Bank of Japan. With government officials not agreeing on how hawkish the next BOJ governor will be, and with other policy statements made, yen is finding strength against its major counterparts.

One of the big subjects of uncertainty — and speculation — right now is who the next governor of the Bank of Japan will be. There are mixed messages coming from different government officials, and no one is sure whether or not the next BOJ governor will favor continuing aggressive easing.

This news, along with Finance Minister Taro Aso‘s remarks that the BOJ will not buy foreign bonds in an effort to end deflation, is helping the yen head higher. Even though a bit of risk appetite has appeared in the Forex markets, the yen isn’t heading lower as traders look for higher yields. Instead, the yen is higher on the prospect that Japan will soon put an end to such aggressive weakening. There is speculation that maybe the G-20 did have some impact after all.

At 15:15 GMT yen is higher against its major counterparts. USD/JPY is down to 93.5800 from the open at 93.9550. EUR/JPY is down to 125.0300 from the open at 125.4400. GBP/JPY is down to 144.7910 from the open at 145.2970.

Comments