Yen firm as G7 voices concerns

Published: 13 Feb at 12 PM Tags: Euro, Dollar,

The yen has managed to remain firm after swinging higher following concerns by the Group of Seven over excessive movement. Since November the Japanese currency has slumped against the US dollar by nearly 20 per cent. Pressure has been put on the yen by the country’s new government which came to power on the promise of easing as a way of tackling deflation.

The greenback was down 0.3 per cent against the yen at 93.23 yen. The euro is trading at 125.50 yen, a drop of 0.5 per cent. The yen weakened on Tuesday following an announcement by Taro Aso, Japanese Finance Minister, that reflationary policies were not aimed at manipulating the foreign exchange markets.

The Bank of Japan is currently meeting to discuss fiscal policy and investors expect the result to be an announcement that no further easing measures will be put into place until after the appointment of a new governor.

With the yen at centre stage, the euro fell against the greenback to $1.3444. The Aussie dollar was up to $1.0338, a rise of 0.3 per cent. However the possibility of rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of Australia has kept the currency under pressure.

Investors are currently focusing on industrial production figures in the eurozone and retail sales in the US.