Japan’s macroeconomic data released during the Friday’s trading session was good for the most part, but that did not prevent the Japanese yen from falling due to mild risk appetite on the Forex market. Yet currently, the yen is trying to rebound and has basically erased losses versus some of its major rivals, including the euro and the Great Britain pound.
The Tokyo core CPI rose 1.1% in February from a year ago, the same as in January and within expectations. Month-over-month, the index fell 0.1%.
The unemployment rate fell to 2.3% in February from 2.5% in January. Market participants did not expect any changes.
Industrial production rose 1.4% in February from the previous month, seasonally adjusted, matching forecasts exactly. The month before, the indicator declined 3.4% (revised, 3.7% before the revision).
Retail sales rose 0.4% in February from the previous year. That is compared to the average forecast of a 0.9% increase and the 0.6% gain registered in January.
The number of housing starts increased by 4.2% in February from a year ago after rising 1.1% in January. Analysts had expected a small drop by 0.1%.
USD/JPY edged up from 110.63 to 110.77 as of 10:14 GMT today. EUR/JPY was at about the opening level of 124.20 after rising to the high of 124.55 intraday. GBP/JPY was at 144.36 after opening at 144.32 and rising to the daily high of 144.93.
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