Surprising Growth of Japanese GDP Doesn’t Help Yen

The performance of the Japanese yen was not impressive today despite a surprisingly good report about Japan’s economic growth. The currency fell versus the Swiss franc and was about flat against most other major rivals.
Japan’s gross domestic product rose 0.5% in the first quarter of this year from the previous three months. That is compared to the forecast decline by 0.1%. Yet diving deeper into the report reveals that the Japanese economy is not in a good health. Private consumption fell 0.1% Exports demonstrated the biggest contraction since 2015. And with the trade wars ongoing the situation is not likely to improve anytime soon.
Released separately, industrial production demonstrated a decline by 0.6% in March from the previous month. While it was not a good reading by itself, it was at least better than the average forecast of a 0.9% drop, the same as in February.
USD/JPY traded at about 110.03 as of 19:58 GMT today, not far from the opening of 110.10. EUR/JPY was about flat at 122.85. CHF/JPY gained from 108.86 to 109.10.

If you have any questions, comments, or opinions regarding the Japanese Yen, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.

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