- The Japanese Yen (JPY) falls for a second day
- Japan PPI eased to 4% from 4.2%
- The US Dollar (USD) rises from a 5-month low
- US CPI eased to 2.8% YoY from 3% in January
The US dollar Japanese yen (USD/JPY) exchange rate is rising for a second straight day. The pair rose 0.53% in the previous session, settling on Tuesday at 148.04. At 18:30 UTC, USD/JPY trades 0.2% higher at 148.37 and is in a range of 147.85 to 149.19.
The yen is falling today amid a more upbeat mood in the market as Ukraine signaled its readiness to agree to a ceasefire with Russia and despite Trump’s trade tariffs fieling tit for tat responses.
In economic news data from the BOJ showed that wholesale inflation in Japan was flat on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis this beat forecasts of 0.1% full and it was down from 0.3% growth in January. On a monthly basis producer prices rose 4% in line with expectations and down slightly from 4.2% the previous month.
Data from the Ministry of Finance also showed that confidence among Japanese large companies deteriorated in Q1. The business survey index for industries fell 22 in Q1, down from 5.7 in Q4 of 2024.
The US Dollar is rising across the board. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, is +0.25% to 103.54 at the time of writing, rising from a 5-month low.
The best seller is rising after US inflation cooled more than expected in February, bringing some relief to consumers and businesses worried about trade tariffs.
US inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, eased to 2.8% year over year in February, down from 30% in January and below the 2.9% that economists forecast. Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes more volatile items such as food and fuel, unexpectedly fell to 3.1% from 3.2%.
The data isn’t another step closer to the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates again after the central bank paused rate cuts at the start of this year.
However this inflation report doesn’t tell us anything about how inflation is going to work with the new tariff regime.
The data comes as the market weighs up the prospect of a trade war and frets over the impact on the US economy, raising recessionary fears.
