The Japanese yen was relatively firm against the US dollar today but fell versus the euro and the Great Britain pound ahead of the monetary policy announcement from the Bank of Japan.
The BoJ will release a monetary policy statement later today. Many market participants and analysts wait for the announcement because it is expected that the central bank may expand its already substantial monetary stimulus.
As for economic data, Japan’s core Consumer Price Index fell 0.1 percent in September from a year ago while Tokyo core CPI was down 0.2 percent in October on an annual basis. Both readings were the same as in the previous reporting period and in line with market expectations. The unemployment rate remained steady at 3.4 percent in September, also surprising no one. What did provide a negative surprise was household spending. It fell 0.4 percent last month while economists had predicted an increase by 1.2 percent.
USD/JPY ticked down from 121.13 to 120.99 as of 22:48 GMT today. At the same time, EUR/JPY rallied from 132.35 to 133.09, bouncing from 131.58 — the lowest level since April 30. GBP/JPY rose from 184.91 to 185.38 after touching the daily low of 184.08.
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