(Bloomberg) -- The yen weakened past the closely watched level of 160 per dollar. Meanwhile, a gauge of the greenback’s strength jumped with oil prices as traders await what’s likely to be Jerome Powell’s final press conference as Federal Reserve chair.
- USD/JPY advanced as much as 0.4% to 160.20, highest since March
- “As long as the climb above 160 is relatively slow, then Japanese authorities will likely try to hold out on intervention until we get closer to 162, which seems to be the new hard line for intervention,” said Andrew Hazlett, a foreign-exchange trader at Monex Inc. “I think it is likely that we see rate checks or ‘verbal’ intervention as we approach 162 and then actual buying of yen once that is crossed”
- Ahead of Japan entering the Golden Week holiday, a period of thin liquidity when price moves can become exaggerate, the Bank of Japan held rates unchanged, providing only temporary support to the yen, and Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama had said authorities are ready to take bold actions
- NOTE: In 2024, Japan intervened into the fx market during the Golden Week, including after the conclusion of the Fed rate meeting
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.3%
- Policy makers are poised to keep US rates on hold for a third consecutive meeting Wednesday
- Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the next Fed chair, won the backing of the Senate Banking Committee Wednesday, putting him on track to be confirmed by the full Senate before Jerome Powell’s term ends May 15
- USD/CAD was little changed at 1.3681. Pair earlier rose as much as 0.2% to 1.3711 after the Bank of Canada decision to hold rates as expected
- “I’d characterize this as a dovish hold,” said Win Thin, chief economist at Bank of Nassau 1982. “The bank is clearly not in any hurry to hike rates.”
- EUR/USD fell 0.2% to 1.1691, heading for its third daily drop
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the consequences of the Iran conflict may echo for months or even years to come
- Spanish consumer prices rose 3.5% from a year earlier in April, faster than March’s 3.4% advance and above the unchanged reading that economists in a Bloomberg survey had estimated
- AUD/USD falls 0.6% to 0.7137
- Australia’s inflation remained above the top of the Reserve Bank’s 2-3% target band as higher fuel costs from Middle East supply disruptions compounded already-elevated price pressures to keep policymakers on a tightening path.
Reporting by Anya Andrianova
