Yen moves in a positive zone as the week opens up
The Japanese yen rose in Asian trade on Monday against a basket of major rivals, moving in a positive zone against the US dollar and recovering from two-week lows, and about to trade above 150 yen once more.
The yen performed strongly in February, led by the outlook of a Japanese interest rate hike in March with traders now waiting for more clues on the future path of Japan’s monetary policies.
The Price
The USD/JPY pair fell 0.25% today to 150.24 yen per dollar, with February 20 highs at 151.02.
The yen lost 0.55% on Friday, the third loss in a row on profit-taking away from a four-month high at 148.56.
The yen rallied 2.95% in February against the dollar, marking the second monthly profit in a row, and the largest since July 2024 amid mounting inflationary pressures in Japan and following bullish remarks from Bank of Japan officials.
Japanese Rates
BOJ Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida said on Friday the bank will continue to reduce its purchases of government bonds despite the recent rise in yields, asserting its massive holdings of bonds still act as a massive stimulus to the economy.
Uchida reiterated the BOJ’s readiness to hike interest rates if economic developments and prices went as expected
The odds of a BOJ interest rate hike in March now stand at 85%.
Gold falls but marks monthly profits
Gold prices fell on Friday as the dollar rallied against most major rivals amid mounting concerns about the global trade war, however, the precious metal still marked monthly profits despite the losses sustained this week.
Earlier data showed US personal spending rose 2.5% y/y in January, slowing down from 2.6% in December.
US President Donald Trump announced on the Truth Social platform plans to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports starting in early March.
Otherwise, the dollar index rose 0.4% as of 20:29 GMT to 107.6, with a session-high at 107.6, and a low at 107.1.
On trading, gold April futures fell 1.7%, or $47.4 to $2848.5 an ounce, with a weekly loss of 1.8%, and a monthly profit of 0.5%.
Loonie declines after forecast-missing data
The Canadian dollar fell against most major rivals following forecast-missing data.
Canada’s GDP grew 0.2% in December according to government data, below estimates of 0.3%.
On trading, the CAD/USD pair fell 0.2% as of 20:38 GMT to 0.6914.
Aussie
The Australian dollar fell 0.6% as of 20:38 GMT against the US dollar to 0.6198.
US Dollar
The dollar index rose 0.4% as of 20:29 GMT to 107.6, with a session-high at 107.6, and a low at 107.1.
US personal spending rose 2.5% y/y in January, slowing down from 2.6% in December.
US President Donald Trump announced on the Truth Social platform plans to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports starting in early March.
Wall Street climbs but still approaches monthly losses
US stock indices rose on Friday as investors assess latest data, which showed a slowdown in US inflation.
US personal spending rose 2.5% y/y in January, slowing down from 2.6% in December.
US President Donald Trump announced on the Truth Social platform plans to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports starting in early March.
On trading, Dow Jones rose 0.5% as of 15:47 GMT to 43481 points, while S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 5891 points, as NASDAQ climbed 0.5%, or 103 points to 18,634 points.