Yen Disappoints....So Does the Dollar

While the US Dollar is having a tough week against the Euro Zone, the Japanese Yen is having its own challenging times. Inflation numbers for November continue the trend of falling lower and lower on a monthly basis. Tokyo headline CPI declined 0.2 percent during the month, bringing the annual rate down to 0.2 percent. Furthermore, October’s results were revised 0.1 lower on both a monthly and annual basis, highlighting Japan’s dreadfully slow pace out of deflationary status. With no pressure on the Japanese economy, the Bank of Japan has less of a reason to hike rates by 25 basis points that is expected in December. However, the Bank of Japan has been quick to suggest that monetary policy decisions are based on the future of the economy and not previous month’s numbers. While this does not take a rate increase off the table completely, it does decrease the likely hood. At the close, the USD/JYP was trading at 115.47 and the EUR/JYP was trading at 154.00. XPRESSTRADE Analyst David Hilgeman