Week in review
The USD/JPY opened the week at 154.20. Trading was quiet in the low 154 range on 3 November, a Japanese holiday, before conditions shifted on 4 November. The pair rose to the high for the week of around 154.50 in early Tokyo hours, but fell back to around 153.50 after Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said "we are seeing one-sided and rapid movements in the currency market" and following a sharp drop in the Nikkei 225. Yen buying picked up steam on 5 November, pushing the pair temporarily below 153. The USD/JPY then recovered, rising back to above 154 supported by firm US economic data. The pair slipped toward 153 again toward the weekend as concerns over a slowdown in the US labor market weighed on the dollar, and remained near that level at the time of writing (Figure 1). Among G10 currencies this week, the yen was the strongest performer. In contrast, as the recent dollar rally lost momentum, petrocurrencies such as the Canadian dollar and Norwegian krone, along with the antipodean currencies, underperformed (Figure 2).
FIGURE 1: USD/JPY
Note: As at 12:00 JST on 7 November
Source: Bloomberg, MUFG
FIGURE 2: MAJOR CURRENCIES' RATE OF CHANGE VS USD THIS WEEK
Note: As at 12:00 JST on 7 November
Source: Bloomberg, MUFG