- US government could reopen soon
- The US Dollar (USD) rises versus major peers
- Attention could return to economic data
The US dollar Japanese yen (USD/JPY) exchange rate is rising after losses last week. The pair fell 0.38% in the previous week, settling on Friday at 153.43. On Monday at 17.30 UTC, USD/JPY trades 0.35% at 153.96 and trades in a range of 153.46 to 154.24.
The Japanese yen is falling amid an improved market mood, amid hopes that the US government shutdown could soon end. On Sunday, the Senate moved forward on a measure aimed at reopening the government and ending a record-breaking 40-day shutdown that had left 75,000 federal workers furloughed and had wide-ranging impacts, including the cancellation of over 10,000 flights.
The safe-haven yen was out of favour while riskier FX such as the Aussie dollar outperformed. US equities were also rebounding firmly amid the risk-on mood.
Separately, the Bank of Japan’s summary of opinions on Monday also noted that the fog surrounding Japan’s economic outlook had begun to clear. These comments were seen as potentially paving the way for a rate hike in December, which would support the yen.
The US Dollar is rising across the board. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, is rising 0.10% at 99.70 after losses last week.
The US dollar is pushing higher on optimism about a possible reopening of the US government. Although trading volumes have been relatively low ahead of tomorrow’s Veterans Day, a holiday on which the US stock market opens but the bond market closes.
It remains unclear when you ask, but economic data releases may begin once the US government reopens. However, attention will quickly shift back to the Federal Reserve and rate-cut expectations.
Last week, data raised some concerns over the health of the US jobs market. The Challenger job-cut report showed that US firms cut 153,000 jobs in October, the most in October in over 2 decades.