The yen continues to fall against the dollar, despite attempts to break out of a 34-year low. At the same time, the Japanese currency is strengthening against the rest of its rivals.
At the time of writing, the USD/JPY is trading at 153.36, up 0.06% over the past 24 hours. At the same time, the pair is on track for a weekly gain of more than 1% and a monthly gain of more than 4%.
Markets had previously predicted that the 152 level would be insurmountable for the dollar, as Japanese authorities warned of intervention if it was breached. However, the latest US inflation data provided strong support for the dollar and sparked a rally that allowed it to easily overcome the "psychological" resistance, Reuters reported.
"The break of 152 wasn't really a breakout; it was more of an explosion. And it was pretty impressive," said IG's Tony Sycamore.
Sycamore believes that with the yen in free fall, Japanese authorities will soon take a number of measures to stabilize the currency.
"The question is at what level and at what time they will decide to put some money on the table," the analyst stressed.
Shun'ichi Suzuki, Japan's Finance Minister, emphasized in his latest statement that in order to stabilize the yen, the authorities will comprehensively assess not only its dynamics but also the factors influencing the national currency's movement.
At the same time, the EUR/JPY fell 0.42% to 163.71. The euro fell sharply against global currencies after the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to leave its key interest rates unchanged on Thursday. At the same time, Europe's main financial regulator signaled that it may cut rates in the near future as confidence grows that inflation will return to its 2% target.
There are rising expectations that the ECB may cut rates before the Federal Reserve puts pressure on the euro.
The AUD/JPY and NZD/JPY fell 0.36% and 0.30% to 99.84 and 91.63, respectively.
The GBP/JPY fell 0.34 to 191.75.
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