- Reaction score
- 1,701
TOKYO/NEW YORK -- Japan's currency fell past 158 yen to the dollar on Friday in a quickening sell-off after the Bank of Japan left interest rates unchanged, even as the outlook for an early U.S. rate cut fades.
Hitting the 158 level marks a new 34-year low for the yen, which had been hovering in the mid-155 yen range before the BOJ decision.
Although the yen's slide has prompted speculation that Japanese authorities are poised to intervene with support, the U.S. interest rate outlook suggests there is little Tokyo can do to change the overall direction of exchange rates.
The central bank did not make any changes to its statement on bond purchases. Going into the meeting, some analysts predicted the BOJ might reduce Japanese government bond purchases to stop the yen's depreciation.
Meanwhile, data out Friday showed that U.S. personal consumption expenditures -- the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation -- rose more than expected in March, tamping down investors' expectations of an early Fed interest rate cut.
"The market was probably disappointed by the lack of detail regarding the BOJ's stance in relation to bond purchases," said Joey Chew, head of Asia FX research at HSBC, although he thinks the central bank's latest outlook report was more hawkish than the previous one in January.
asia.nikkei.com
Hitting the 158 level marks a new 34-year low for the yen, which had been hovering in the mid-155 yen range before the BOJ decision.
Although the yen's slide has prompted speculation that Japanese authorities are poised to intervene with support, the U.S. interest rate outlook suggests there is little Tokyo can do to change the overall direction of exchange rates.
The central bank did not make any changes to its statement on bond purchases. Going into the meeting, some analysts predicted the BOJ might reduce Japanese government bond purchases to stop the yen's depreciation.
Meanwhile, data out Friday showed that U.S. personal consumption expenditures -- the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation -- rose more than expected in March, tamping down investors' expectations of an early Fed interest rate cut.
"The market was probably disappointed by the lack of detail regarding the BOJ's stance in relation to bond purchases," said Joey Chew, head of Asia FX research at HSBC, although he thinks the central bank's latest outlook report was more hawkish than the previous one in January.
Yen tumbles past 158 against dollar on stubborn U.S. inflation
Japan's currency in intervention territory, but stepping in unlikely to work: Mizuho
asia.nikkei.com
