USD/JPY holds higher for first session in three

The US dollar fluctuated in a narrow bullish range during the Asian session against the Japanese Yen, to rebound in its second session from the lowest since the beginning of April, following Japanese developments and economic data, while on the threshold of economic data release expected on Wednesday By the US economy.

At 06:04 GMT, USD/JPY rose 0.04% to 111.19 compared with the opening levels at 111.14, after reaching a high of 111.23, while the lowest at 111.06.

We followed the Japanese economy release of the Producer Price Index (PPI), a preliminary indicator of inflationary pressures, which showed growth at 0.3%, unchanged from last February, in contrast to expectations of a slowing in growth to 0.2%. , While the annual reading of the index showed growth accelerated to 1.3% versus 0.9%, also surpassing expectations of a growth acceleration by 1.0%.

This came in conjunction with a reading of Machine Tool Orders index, which rose to 1.8% against 5.4% in January, below expectations of a rise of 2.8%, with the disclosure of the annual reading of the bank lending index, which showed acceleration of growth to 2.4% compared to the previous reading for February, and expectations at 2.3%, in addition to the annual reading of the Machine Tool Orders index shrinking to 28.5% compared to 29.3% in February.

The Japanese government announced earlier this month a 10-day holiday from Saturday (27 April) to Monday (6 May) for Japan's celebrations of the new emperor there, which for crowning the Prince at the beginning of May, it's worth mentioning that this six-day holiday will be the longest in Japan's history.

On the other hand, the markets are currently waiting for the US economy to release inflation data, with the release of the consumer price index, which may reflect a rapid growth rate of 0.3% versus 0.2% in February, while the core reading of the same index may also show an increase by 0.2%, alongside the index' annual reading, which may show the growth accelerating to 1.8% versus 1.5%, while the core annual reading may show growth stability at 2.1%.

This comes before the talk of the FOMC and Federal Reserve's member, Randall Quarles, about the progress on the transition to risk-free rates at the Financial Stability Board Roundtable, in Washington DC, leading to the reveal of the Federal Committee meeting minutes, which held on 19-20, during which the FOMC agreed to keep the intrest rates between 2.25% and 2.50%.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) agreed at its last meeting to gradually reduce its bond buyback until September, amid lowering their forecasts for growth, while rising their unemployment expectations, as well as trimming their expectations for an interest rate hike in the current year, while expectations for a one-time increase next year were kept up in 2020.