The Japanese yen fell in Asian trade on Monday against a basket of major rivals, resuming losses against the US dollar after a hiatus on Friday and approaching five-month lows once more under supervision of Japanese authorities, which expressed concern about the yen’s recent weakness. 

As inflationary pressures mounted on Bank of Japan’s policymakers, the odds of a January Bank of Japan interest rate hike in January grew, with investors awaiting more Japanese data to gather more clues.

The Price 

The USD/JPY rose 0.2% to 156.69 yen per dollar, with a session-low at 156.33.

The yen rose 0.7% against the dollar on Friday, the first profit in three days, moving away from recent lows after hitting a five-month trough at 157.92.

The yen slid 1.8% last week against the dollar, marking the weekly loss in a row after the BOJ maintained interest rates unchanged.

Japanese Authorities 

Japan’s finance minister Katsunubo Kato expressed concerns on Friday about the sharp movements in the forex market, led by speculators, and asserted that authorities will confront such heavy swings to stabilize the price.

It’s quite rare for Japanese officials to directly express concerns about the forex market, which indicates readiness to intervene if necessary. 

Japanese Rates

Recent Tokyo data showed main consumer prices rose 2.7%% in November, beating estimates of 2.6%, and up from 2.3% in October.

Following the data, the odds of a 0.25% interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan in January rose from 45% to 55%.

Ethereum rose on Friday amid an improving risk appetite after investors digested recent data and following the Federal Reserve’s policy decisions. 

Earlier data from the Michigan University showed the consumer confidence index up 3.1% m/m in December to 74, from 71.8 in November.

Government data showed US personal spending rose 2.4% y/y in November, up from 2.3% in the previous month, but below estimates of 2.5%.

The data might convince the Federal Reserve to slow down the pace of interest rate cuts in 2025, after its recent quarterly outlook report already indicated only 50 basis points of total expected cuts in 2025.

Otherwise, US Congressmen voted today in favor of a bill that would avoid the partial shutdown of government for three months due to lack of funding as budget negotiations intensify. 

Ethereum 

Ethereum rose 3.4% on Coinmarketcap as of 20:37 GMT to $3450.5, but marked a weekly loss of 12.1%. 

Gold prices rose on Friday as the dollar lost ground against most major rivals following the Federal Reserve’s policy decisions, but the precious metal still marked losses this week.

Earlier data from the Michigan University showed the consumer confidence index up 3.1% m/m in December to 74, from 71.8 in November.

Government data showed US personal spending rose 2.4% y/y in November, up from 2.3% in the previous month, but below estimates of 2.5%.

The data might convince the Federal Reserve to slow down the pace of interest rate cuts in 2025, after its recent quarterly outlook report already indicated only 50 basis points of total expected cuts in 2025.

Otherwise, US Congressmen voted today in favor of a bill that would avoid the partial shutdown of government for three months due to lack of funding as budget negotiations intensify. 

Otherwise, the dollar index fell 0.7% as of 20:16 GMT to 107.6, with a session-high at 108.5, and a low at 107.5.

On trading, gold spot prices rose 1.5% as of 20:17 GMT to $2646.4 an ounce, but marked a weekly loss of 1.1%.

US stock indices declined on Friday following inflation data.

Government data showed US personal spending rose 2.4% y/y in November, up from 2.3% in the previous month, but below estimates of 2.5%.

The data might convince the Federal Reserve to slow down the pace of interest rate cuts in 2025, after its recent quarterly outlook report already indicated only 50 basis points of total expected cuts in 2025.

Otherwise, US Congressmen voted today in favor of a bill that would avoid the partial shutdown of government for three months due to lack of funding as budget negotiations intensify. 

On trading, Dow Jones fell 0.1% as of 15:10 GMT, or 30 points to 42311 points, as NASDAQ slipped 0.3%, or 16 points to 5850 points, while NASDAQ shed 0.6%, or 115 points to 19,257 points.