Yen about to mark weekly profit on haven demand
The Japanese yen rose in Asian trade on Friday against a basket of major rivals, extending gains for the third straight session against the dollar and about to touch five-month highs on strong haven demand.
Yen’s gains are also boosted by a steep drop in US 10-year treasury yields as traders await the US payrolls report, expected to offer fresh pricing for the odds of a Fed rate cut.
The Price
The USD/JPY fell 0.35% today to 147.44 yen per dollar, with a session-high at 148.16.
The yen rose 0.6% on Thursday against the dollar, hitting a five-month high at 147.31 amid rising risk aversion.
Weekly Trades
The yen is up over 2% so far this week against the dollar, on track for the second weekly profit in three weeks on the unwinding of the yen carry trades.
Safe Havens
US stock indices resumed their huge losses on Thursday with drops towards four-month lows amid concerns about trade war uncertainties.
Wall Street is heading for the third weekly loss in a row, and the heftiest since September 2025 as Donald Trump continues to impose then delay 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
US Yields
US 10-year treasury yields fell 0.7% on Friday to five-month lows at 4.108%, heaping pressure on the dollar.
It comes as investors assess the impact of the latest US tariffs on Mexico and Canada, which were then quickly rolled back temporarily for a month.
According to the Fedwatch tool, the odds of a 0.25% Fed rate cut in March stood at 9%.
Now traders await the all-important US payrolls report for February later today, crucial for gauging the future path of US monetary policies.
Ripple rises over 4% even as risk appetite wavers
Ripple rose on Thursday even as the risk appetite wavered, but the cryptocurrency still received support from demand through international payment systems.
US President Donald Trump announced this week the implementation of 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods, in addition to a 10% tariff on Chinese imports.
He then first walked back on the tariffs for automakers, then walked back on all the tariffs for a month.
Earlier US data showed unemployment claims fell 21 thousand to 221 thousand last week from 242 thousand in the previous reading.
US President Donald Trump recently announced the formation of a strategic reserve for cryptocurrencies, which would include bitcoin, ethereum, ripple, solana, and cardano, which provided a boost to the crypto market.
Ripple
Ripple surged 4.3% as of 21:30 GMT to $2.59.
Euro declines after ECB rate decision
The euro fell against most major rivals on Thursday after an expected policy decision by the European Central Bank.
The ECB cut main borrowing rates by 25 basis points to 2.5% as expected, noting in its statement that inflation has slowed down in line with forecasts.
The ECB now expects inflation to hit 2.3% this year, before slowing down to 1.9% in 2026, before rising to 2% in 2027.
The ECB reduced forecasts for eurozone economic growth in 2025 to 0.9%, and in 2026 to 1.2%, and in 2027 to 1.3%.
On trading, the EUR/USD pair fell 0.1% as of 21:29 GMT to $1.0781.
Aussie
The Australian dollar fell 0.1% against its US counterpart as of 21:30 GMT to 0.6332.
US Dollar
The dollar index fell 0.1% today to 104.2, with a session-high at 104.3, and a low at 104.7.
US President Donald Trump announced this week the implementation of 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods, in addition to a 10% tariff on Chinese imports.
He then first walked back on the tariffs for automakers, then walked back on all the tariffs for a month.
Earlier US data showed unemployment claims fell 21 thousand to 221 thousand last week from 242 thousand in the previous reading.
