FX.co ★ Yen Holds Steady as Traders Await Economic Data

The Japanese yen was little changed around 157.8 per dollar on Monday, extending a roughly two-week sideways trading range as markets awaited a slate of key economic data due this week. On the domestic front, investors are looking to August figures for wages, the current account, and household spending, as well as September data on consumer confidence and machine tool orders.

A summary of opinions from the Bank of Japan’s September meeting released last week indicated a heightened focus on preventing inflation from overshooting the central bank’s 2% target. This reinforced expectations that another interest rate hike is possible before year-end, though it provided little guidance on the likely timing ahead of policy meetings scheduled for October and December.

At the same time, the yen remained under pressure from a strong US dollar and elevated US Treasury yields. That pressure persisted even after weaker-than-expected US employment data eased some of the urgency for the Federal Reserve to deliver additional rate hikes.