The Japanese yen takes the top spot despite more dovish rhetoric from the BOJ and net weak economic updates from Japan, all on a big shift in risk sentiment after a negative update on the U.S.-China trade story on Thursday.
Japanese Headlines and Economic data
Monday:
- Japan retail sales +0.5% vs. 1.3% previous
- Cloudiest Tokyo summer in 129 years is hurting Japan’s retailers
Tuesday:
-
Bank of Japan commits to easing further if inflation sputters and keeps policy steady at the latest monetary policy statement
- holds short-term interest rate target at -0.1%
- holds 10 year JGB yield target around 0%
- Japan’s Factory Output Slides Under Pressure From Global Slump
- The unemployment rate in Japan decreased to a 4-month low of 2.3%in June 2019 from 2.4 percent in May
Wednesday:
Thursday:
- Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing PMI: Manufacturing conditions remain under pressure in July
- BOJ’s Amamiya signals readiness for more easing to head off risks
- Trump announces new tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese goods – this event set global financial markets into fear and uncertainty mode as traders were caught off guard given the earlier rhetoric in the week that U.S.-China negotiations were ‘constructive.’ The Japanese yen drew in risk-off flows as the ultimate safe haven among the major currencies, rallying into the top spot among the major currencies on Friday and holding it into the weekend.
Friday:
