ForexLive Asia-Pacific FX news wrap: USD/JPY sitting just above 157.00

  • Forex news for Asian trading on Friday, 24 May 2024

It was a subdued session in Asia. The USD strength seen on Thursday, and lower ‘risk’, showed very little retracement at all. The US is on holiday on Monday, and the bond market closes early on Friday there ahead of it. It seems Asia traders decided to shut down even earlier.

The focus for the session here was on Japanese inflation data for April. The CPI measures cooled for a second month in a row but all three of the major measures remained above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target level. While this is good news for the BOJ on the face of it, the concern is that its still ‘cost-push’ inflation. While the yen remains a weakling that might be here for some time to come. BOJ policymakers are keen for inflation to transition into ‘demand-pull’ but sustainable domestic demand is a long time coming and consumption levels remain weak.

ps. If you are wondering about ‘cost-push’ and ‘demand-pull’ I have a really quick explanation here (economics texts will offer more if that's what you are after).

USD/JPY has not done a lot today. Its traded in a small range only straddling 157.00.

Across other major FX its been small ranges also. Mainland China and Hong Kong stocks are down again.

usdyen week wrap chart 24 May 2024 2

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