The yen is in the green on Thursday, with markets anticipating a further increase on Friday in the key rate from the Bank of Japan (BoJ), which has long used negative rates to stimulate wage and price growth. Around 10:30 a.m. GMT (11:30 a.m. in Paris), the Japanese currency gained 0.16% against the greenback, at 156.27 yen per dollar, and gained 0.07% against the euro, at 162.80 yen. This “expected rate rise” of 0.25 points, already largely integrated by the market, will not be enough to support the yen more sustainably, however, believes Patrick Munnelly of Tickmill. Japanese monetary officials will also have to display “a firm commitment to future increases”says the analyst.
The BoJ ended its negative rate policy in 2024, raising them twice to reach 0.25%, a level maintained since, particularly in the face of internal and international economic uncertainties. Last week, the governor of the monetary institution, Kazuo Ueda, spoke of a possible increase in January, saying he was confident about wage increases in the country, likely to revive consumption and growth. The dollar, for its part, takes a break on Thursday, dropping 0.07% against the euro, to 1.0418 dollars.
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Markets in Asia: the yen strengthened by the prospect of a rate hike from the BoJ
Gold has climbed
The greenback’s lack of momentum “reflects a certain relief” of the market, Donald Trump having “so far delayed any immediate action to increase customs duties”estimates Lee Hardman, analyst at MUFG. Returning to the White House this week, the new American president threatened an increase in customs duties for Mexico and Canada from February, but also for the European Union and China – without however putting it to be executed immediately.
Faced with these uncertainties, gold climbed on Wednesday to within around thirty dollars of its historic peak of $2,790.10, reached at the end of October. It stabilizes on Thursday not far from this record, down slightly by 0.30%, at 2748.10 dollars per ounce. At its monetary policy meeting on Thursday, the Bank of Norway also said it “concerned by the risk of an increase in international trade barriers” likely to affect growth. As expected, it left its key rate unchanged, at 4.5%, its highest level since 2008, and confirmed that a reduction was «probable» a March.
