The Japanese yen (JPY) is strengthening today as the Bank of Japan announced it will stop buying corporate debt by the end of this year. This essentially means that they will stop flooding the market with yen, which in turn means supply will be less, which should translate into higher yen values.
JPY is up today, most notably against the commodity currencies. What’s going to be interesting is how far the BOJ will let the yen strengthen before the talks of intervention begin to surface again. There is still lingering deflation in Japan, so don’t expect an interest rate hike anytime soon. However, Japan appears to be emerging from the recession as unemployment has fallen to a 4-month low and household spending has impoved.
But a strong yen affects Japanese exports so it will be interesting to see the battle between the philosophies of the BOJ and the finance ministry play out.
So I’m watching and waiting!
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