The Yen has weakened to its lowest level since May 2010 against the US Dollar and fell against a basket of currencies after the Group of 20 nations refrained from criticising Japans monetary easing policies.
Since December 2012 the Japanese currency has weakened by 13% against the Greenback as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe launched his plan to increase spending and pressured the Bank of Japan to increase its monetary easing.
The G-20’s comments about the Japanese policy to weaken the Yen were relatively muted causing traders to believe that the recent trends in the currency market may continue. The group announced that its members will not target the exchange rates for competitive purposes without singling out Japan.
“They basically said that the Japanese can continue to pursue their policies to reflate their economy, which the G-20 and the G-7 have called for, for a couple of years now,” said Marc Chandler global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. in New York. “We’ll see the Japanese continue to pursue aggressive fiscal easing and monetary easing, and just not talk about the currency so much.”
Prime Minister Abe said in parliament in Tokyo that the purpose of monetary easing is to end deflation and he wants to show the government’s intentions through nominees for BOJ governor and deputies soon. Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s today retained its negative outlook on Japan’s AA- credit rating, pending policy developments of Abe’s administration.
The next main focus for the Yen is who will be appointed as the next Bank of Japan governor after Masaaki Shirakawa steps down in March. It is expected that Abe will nominate Haruhiko Kuroda to take the job.
Current JPY exchange rates
These exchange rates were correct as of 09:45 am
The Japanese Yen to Pound Sterling exchange rate is currently trading at 0.0068
The Japanese Yen to US Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 0.0106
The Japanese Yen to Euro exchange rate is currently trading at 0.0079
The Japanese Yen to Australian Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 0.0103
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