USD/JPY to 97.50 on Recovery Signs Before BOJ Meeting

The yen rose against all of its 16 major peers after data in Japan showed retail sales grew more than economists estimated and the unemployment rate dropped before the nation’s central bank holds a meeting this week.

Japan’s currency halted a two-day slide versus the dollar as falling Asian stocks boosted demand for haven assets and futures traders trimmed bearish bets on the currency to the least in a year. The euro rose to a two-month high versus the pound before a report due today that may show stronger consumer sentiment in France, Europe’s second-largest economy. The Aussie dollar fell after Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens said the currency will probably be “materially lower.”

“The consensus is that the yen is somewhat undervalued,” Jerry Schiff, the International Monetary Fund’s mission chief for Japan, said in an interview in Tokyo. “Right now we don’t think the BOJ needs to do anything different to what they are doing. They announced a quite enormous monetary accommodation, and although it may not be moving very fast, both inflation and inflation expectations are moving in the right direction.”

Bloomberg

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