Yen in calm waters ahead of inflation

Yen eyes inflation data

Japan has seen inflation move higher, although nowhere near the levels in the US or the UK, which are not far from double-digits. Last week, core CPI for May came in at 2.1% YoY, unchanged from April. This was the second straight month that core CPI remained above the BoJ’s target of 2%. This is a dramatic shift, given that Japan struggled with deflation for decades. The driver behind rising inflation is higher food and energy prices, as well as the plummeting yen. Notably, wages have not risen.

The Bank of Japan has insisted that this cost-push inflation is temporary. The BoJ wants to see stronger domestic demand and an acceleration in wage growth before it will consider altering its ultra-loose monetary policy. This has taken a massive toll on the yen, which has plunged about 17% this year. The BoJ released its Summary of Opinions from the June meeting, with members showing support for the Bank’s monetary policy. One member said that upward pressure on JGB yields could be expected. The Bank has tenaciously defended its yield curve control and intervened in order to cap 10-year yields at 0.25%. With the Federal Reserve in the midst of an aggressive rate-tightening cycle, the US-Japan rate differential will widen, putting more pressure on the yen.

It’s a busy week ahead for Japanese releases on the calendar, highlighted by further inflation releases. On Tuesday, we’ll get a look at BOJ Core CPI, the central bank’s preferred inflation gauge. This will be followed on Friday by Tokyo Core CPI for June, which could breach above 2.0%, after a 1.9% gain in May.

.

USD/JPY Technical

  • USD/JPY tested resistance at 1.3540 earlier in the day. Above, there is resistance at 1.3654
  • USD/JPY has support at 1.3409 and 1.3295

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

Kenny Fisher

Kenny Fisher

Market Analyst at OANDA
A highly experienced financial market analyst with a focus on fundamental analysis, Kenneth Fisher’s daily commentary covers a broad range of markets including forex, equities and commodities. His work has been published in several major online financial publications including Investing.com, Seeking Alpha and FXStreet. Based in Israel, Kenny has been a MarketPulse contributor since 2012.