Yen rose in Asian trade on Monday against a basket of major rivals, extending gains for the third straight session and moving away from 38-year lows.

The gains come amid speculation the Bank of Japan likely intervened in the forex market to boost the yen against main rivals during the US holiday on Thursday. 

The Price

The USD/JPY pair fell by 0.3% to 160.26, with a session-high at 160.81.

The pair rose 0.3% on Friday, the second profit in a row away from 38-year lows at 161.95. 

The yen also benefited from lower US treasury yields following a spate of grim US data. 

Japanese Authorities 

The Japanese government was rather mute on the issue of the weakening yen last week, with the finance minister Shunichi Suzuki simply saying the government is monitoring the situation.

However, traders are speculating the government has already intervened on Thursday during the US Fourth of July holiday.

BoJ Intervention 

The Bank of Japan first intervened in the forex market in late April after the yen fell below the 160 barrier per dollar for the first time since 1990.

Back then the BOJ chose the timing of a US holiday to guarantee limited liquidity in the market. 

US Yields

US 10-year treasury yields traded near a week low at 4.271% on Monday, hurting the dollar’s appeal. 

It comes following a batch of weak US data last week, which showed the services sector contracted for the first time since January 2023, in turn boosting the odds of a Fed interest rate cut in September to 78%, and to 87% in November. 

As the Labor Party wins a landslide in UK elections, it could have a major impact on the oil and gas industry in the country, with the return of the semi-socialist party to power after 14 years.

The party is likely to double down on renewable energy and away from traditional fossil fuels, which could hamper investment opportunities in the field, although the policy gap between Labor and Conservative on this issue isn’t that wide. 

The Labor asserted in its manifesto its commitment to achieve clean energy, and double land wind power, and raise solar power by three fold, and sea wind power by four fold during its reign. 

The Labor party, just like the Conservatives, views the oil and gas industry as a tool to finance the transitional period towards renewable energy. 

The oil and gas companies are facing heavy taxes already on their business in Britain, which could only get worse with Labor, and might damage investments into the sector according to some analysts. 

However, there’s no doubt that Labor is well aware of the crucial importance of the oil and gas industry to finance the energy transition with nearly 24 billion pounds expected from taxes. 

The Labor Party furthermore vowed to end Rishi Sunak’s generous tax breaks for oil companies if they reinvested their earnings into the field once again. 

The Ineos Energy CEO warned a few days ago that investments in the UK could soon become uneconomical due to the Labor Party’s tax plans. 

He believes that both the Labor and the Conservative Parties were vying to inflict the most pain on the industry. 

The Labor party also plans to end the issuance of new permits to look for gas and oil in the North Sea, effectively killing any prospects of expansion. 

Most US stock indices rose on Friday after the release of the mixed payrolls report.

According to government data, the US economy added 206 thousand new jobs in June, in addition to 218 thousand in May, while analysts expected an addition of 200 thousand. 

In addition, US unemployment rose mildly to 4.1% from 4%, while analysts expected no change. 

US two-year treasury yields fell by 4.4 basis points to 4.647%, while 10-year treasury yields fell by 3 basis points to 4.136%, as 30-year treasury yields fell by 1.3 basis points to 4.506%. 

US President Joe Biden commented on the data by saying that wages are growing faster than prices, and that there’s still more work to do. 

On trading, Dow Jones fell 0.1%, or 18 points as of 16:34 GMT to 39,289, while S&P 500 rose 0.3%, or 14 points to 5551, as NASDAQ rose 0.7%, or 124 points to 18,312. 

Bitcoin skidded on Friday to five-month lows on track for the fourth loss in a row, and about to register the heftiest weekly loss since 2022 amid a heavy selloff.

The Mt. Gox Platform’s wallets are intensifying their preparations to repay commitments amounting to over 140 thousand bitcoins to the victims of the 2014 hack. 

Prices

Bitcoin tumbled 6.1% at Bitstamp today to $3480, the lowest since February 26, with a session-high at $57,500. 

It lost 5.2% on Thursday, the third loss in a row amid a sharp selloff wave.

Crypto Market Value 

The market value of cryptocurrencies fell $178 billion on Friday to a total of $2.075 trillion, the lowest since February as both ethereum and bitcoin sustain heavy losses.

Weekly Trades 

Bitcoin fell over 14% so far this week on track for the fourth weekly loss in a row, and the largest since February 2022. 

Mt. Gox Wallets

The Mt. Gox wallets, which were dormant for a month, showed some activity in experimental trading, which indicates a potential distribution of assets and more selling pressures. 

The Mt. Gox platform is scheduled to distribute stolen assets to clients by a court order, however the exact timing hasn’t been nailed yet.

The repayments will be done through bitcoin and bitcoin cash.