USD/JPY traded higher at the start of the week and hovered around 155.60 at the time of writing on Monday, up 0.55% on the day. The move reflects fresh weakness in the Japanese Yen (JPY), driven by lower expectations of monetary tightening by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and a moderate bounce in the US Dollar (USD).
The Japanese yen remains under pressure after Tokyo released weaker-than-expected inflation indicators. The consumer price index (CPI) slowed sharply, pointing to easing underlying inflation pressures and reducing the urgency for the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates in the near term. These data reinforce the view that the central bank will remain cautious following its recent policy normalization, as the market is now increasing the likelihood of another rate hike towards the spring.
Political factors are also increasing the weakness of the Japanese yen. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s expansionary economic proposals as well as uncertainty over midterm elections on Sunday have revived concerns over fiscal sustainability. Investors fear that strong parliamentary support could encourage further tax cuts and additional stimulus measures, hurting Japan’s fiscal credibility.
In this environment, the decline in the Japanese yen is partly limited by fears of official intervention. Rumors of unusual rate checks and repeated warnings from the Finance Ministry are driving caution among JPY sellers, which is helping to control the pace of depreciation for now.
Furthermore, global geopolitical and trade risks are reducing latent demand for safe-haven assets, which may ultimately lend some support to the Japanese Yen.
On the US side, the US dollar enjoys minor support. Recent macroeconomic data, particularly the strong bounce back in the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) released earlier in the day, reinforce the perception of a resilient US economy. This allows the greenback to stabilize after a period of weakness, providing additional support to the USD/JPY pair.
US dollar price today
The table below shows the percentage change in the US Dollar (USD) against the major currencies listed today. The US dollar was strongest against the Swiss franc.
| USD | EUR | gbp | JPY | scurvy | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.51% | 0.41% | 0.56% | 0.53% | 0.24% | 0.44% | 1.10% | |
| EUR | -0.51% | -0.10% | 0.04% | 0.03% | -0.28% | -0.07% | 0.58% | |
| gbp | -0.41% | 0.10% | 0.17% | 0.13% | -0.17% | 0.03% | 0.69% | |
| JPY | -0.56% | -0.04% | -0.17% | -0.01% | -0.31% | -0.11% | 0.55% | |
| scurvy | -0.53% | -0.03% | -0.13% | 0.01% | -0.30% | -0.10% | 0.56% | |
| AUD | -0.24% | 0.28% | 0.17% | 0.31% | 0.30% | 0.20% | 0.86% | |
| NZD | -0.44% | 0.07% | -0.03% | 0.11% | 0.10% | -0.20% | 0.66% | |
| CHF | -1.10% | -0.58% | -0.69% | -0.55% | -0.56% | -0.86% | -0.66% |
The heat map shows the percentage change of major currencies against each other. The base currency is selected from the left column, while the quote currency is selected from the top row. For example, if you select US Dollar from the left column and move to Japanese Yen along the horizontal line, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
