USDJPY is back to rising; demand for the “safe haven” Yen dropped.
The Japanese Yen is falling against the USD on Tuesday. The current quote for the instrument is 128.05.
The global risk attitude is currently quite positive. This is one of the reasons why the demand for the Yen declined.
The statistics published in the morning showed that the Unemployment Rate in Japan dropped to 2.5% in April after being 2.6% in March, although the indicator wasn’t expected to change.
The Retail Sales leaped up 2.9% y/y in April after gaining 0.7% y/y the month before and against the expected growth of 2.6% y/y. An improvement in consumer demand may be a positive signal for the economy but it’s better to wait and see if the tendency continues.
According to the preliminary data, Industrial Production in Japan lost 1.3% m/m in April after adding 0.3% m/m in March and against the expected decline of 0.1% m/m. The drop can be explained by complicated logistics, exchange rate fluctuations, and uncertainty with new orders. It’s bad news – a slump in production may affect all adjacent sectors.
The Japanese Prime Minister that spoke yesterday said that the Bank of Japan would continue moving towards the inflation target of 2%. The current CPI boost, in his words, is the result of the oil sector rally. In theory, inflation might force manufacturers and enterprises to slow down a bit to monitor how the situation will unfold and assess inflation prospects.
