- Japanese Yen (JPY) rises for a second day
- US recession worries fuel safe-haven demand
- US Dollar (USD) falls versus its major peers
- JOLTS job openings fell to a 3.5-year low
The US Dollar Japanese Yen (USD/JPY) exchange rate fell for a second straight day. The pair fell 0.98% in the previous session, settling on Tuesday at 145.47. At 22:00 UTC, USD/JPY trades -1.3% at 143.60 and is in a range of 143.90 to 145.56. The pair trades 1.7% lower this week.
Japanese yen gained on Wednesday, boosted by safe-haven demand. Weak US manufacturing data on Tuesday boosted recession fears, with investors sending riskier assets, such as US equities, sharply lower. At the same time, traders scoured the market for safe havens- here, the Japanese yen is coming out ahead.
The yen is being lifted by safe-haven demand amid the US recession fears and is also supported by comments from the Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda, who reiterated that the Bank of Japan would lift rates if the economy and prices performed as expected by the Bank of Japan.
The comments reminded the market that the Bank of Japan remains committed to raising borrowing costs as long as the bank’s forecasts materialise.
The US Dollar is falling across the board. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, trades at 101.27 at the time of writing, down 0.54%.
The US dollar is pulling lower across the board as the market weighs up more U.S. data and dovish Fed comments.
Labor market data shows that US job openings fell to a three 1/2-year low in July, pointing to an ongoing easing of the labor market. A cooler labour market could support the Fed’s decision to begin cutting rates at its meeting later this month.
Raphael Bostic, Atlanta Fed president, said the central bank must avoid keeping interest rates restrictive for too long, as doing so risks damaging employment.
He added that waiting for inflation to fall to the Fed’s 2% target before cutting rates could put the labor market at risk of unnecessary pain and suffering.
Attention is turning to Friday’s nonfarm payroll report, particularly after the July NFP report sparked recession concerns.
Those recession concerns were revived earlier in the week when US manufacturing data came in weaker than expected.
