Japanese Yen Flat vs. Major, Falls vs. Commodity Currencies

The Japanese yen was trading flat for the most part today, though fell versus commodity currencies. It looks like traders were not interested in safety provided by the Japanese currency despite increasing tensions between China and the United States over Hong Kong protests. There were plenty of macroeconomic reports released in Japan today but they failed to have a substantial impact on the currency during thin holiday trading.
The Statistics Bureau of Japan reported that the annual core Tokyo consumer inflation rate was at 0.6% in November, matching forecasts, up from 0.5% in the previous month. Month-on-month, the core Tokyo Consumer Price Index rose by 0.2%. The unemployment rate remained stable at 2.4% in October, in line with expectations. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry reported that industrial production tumbled 4.2% in October from the previous month, demonstrating a decline that was more than two times the forecast drop of 2.0%. A report from the Cabinet Office revealed that the Consumer Confidence Index rose to 38.7 in November from 36.2 in October, beating the consensus forecast of 37.0. Housing starts fell 7.4% in October compared with the same period in the previous year, in line with analysts’ predictions.
USD/JPY traded at 109.56 as of 9:52 GMT today after opening at 109.51. EUR/JPY was flat at 120.57. NZD/JPY gained from 70.25 to 70.49, trading near the highest level since August 1.

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