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Forex - Yen holds weaker after BoJ minutes downbeat on prices

Published 05/08/2016, 08:13 PM
Updated 05/08/2016, 08:15 PM
Yen weaker after minutes
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Investing.com - The yen eased further on Monday as minutes from the central bank minutes suggested aims to hit sustained 2% inflation may need to be dialed back.

USD/JPY changed hands at 107.41, up 0.27%, while AUD/USD traded at 0.7370, up 0.03%.

The Bank of Japan published the minutes of its April policy meeting, showing some numbers expect the target date for 2% sustained inflation may need to be pushed back.

Japan also reported average cash earnings for April rose 1.4%, well above a 0.6% year-on-year gain seen.

Still overall wage growth remains gradual as companies are cautious about increasing fixed labor costs amid slow global and domestic demand.

In China, monthly trade data released on Sunday, which showed that both exports and imports fell more than expected in April, added to concerns over the health of the world’s second largest economy. At the same time, foreign exchange reserves rose for a second straight month.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose 0.14% to 93.96.

In the week ahead, investors will be looking to Friday’s U.S. data on retail sales, producer prices and consumer sentiment for fresh indications on the health of the world’s largest economy.

The Bank of England’s bumper data release on ‘Super Thursday’ will also be in focus.

Last week, the dollar edged higher against a basket of its major peers on Friday as remarks by a Federal Reserve official indicated that U.S. interest rates could still rise sooner than expected, despite a weaker than forecast employment report.

New York Fed President William Dudley said Friday that it was reasonable to expect two rate hikes this year despite data showing that jobs growth increased at the slowest rate in seven months in April.

The Labor Department reported earlier Friday that the U.S. economy added 160,000 jobs last month, the smallest increase since September and well below the 202,000 jobs forecast by economists.

The unemployment rate remained steady at 5%.
The one bright sport of the report showed that average hourly earnings rose by eight cents or 0.3%, bringing the year-on-year increase to 2.5% from 2.3% in March.

The weak jobs data added to signs that the economy is losing momentum after the Commerce Department reported last week that U.S. economy grew at the slowest pace in two years in the first quarter.

The report saw investors all but abandon expectations for a June rate hike, with most investors now seeing the next U.S. rate hike coming in September.

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