The Japanese yen easily takes the top spot this week against the majors as traders flocked to safe havens as Coronavirus fears intensify.
Overlay of Inverted JPY Pairs: 1-Hour Forex Chart
JPY Weekly Performance from MarketMilk
Japanese Headlines and Economic data
Monday:
- Coronavirus cases outside China surge, prompting traders to start traders the new week in fear mode and really staying that way through Friday. The Japanese yen usually benefits the most during risk aversion environments, and that was once again the case this week as the fear never really faded thanks to new reports of new cases every day this week.
Tuesday:
- BOJ to act appropriately with eye on markets – senior official
- Japan’s Nishimura says need to pay close attention on coronovirus impact
- Japan Services producer prices rise by 2.3% y/y in January
- Coronavirus further isolates Iran, strains South Korea, Italy
Wednesday:
- BOJ core CPI up 0.3% vs. 0.2% forecast, 0.3% previous
- New coronavirus cases outside China exceeded those in China for the first time, WHO says
Thursday:
- BOJ’s Kataoka urges policy review, stronger steps to avert recession
- BOJ’s Amamiya says must look at pros, cons of issuing digital currencies
- CDC confirms first US coronavirus case of ‘unknown’ origin; California monitors over 8,000
Friday:
- Japanese PM Abe says gov’t is ready to protect economy from coronavirus impact
- Schools in Japan and Tokyo Disneyland shut down on coronavirus concerns
- Japanese preliminary industrial production up 0.8% in January vs. 0.2% forecast
- Tokyo core CPI down from 0.7% to 0.5% vs. 0.6% estimate
- Japanese unemployment rate jumped from 2.2% to 2.4%
- Japan’s retail sales down 0.4% vs. projected 1.3% slump
- Japan’s Hokkaido declares state of emergency over virus
- WHO raises global risk from ‘high’ to ‘very high’
- Mexico among 8 more countries to report first confirmed coronavirus cases
