The Japanese yen fell in Asian markets on Friday against a basket of major and minor currencies, continuing its losing streak for the third day against the US dollar and heading for a fourth straight weekly loss, due to the continued rise in yields on 10-year US Treasury bonds.
In addition, a series of weak economic data in Japan, which consistently indicates that the world’s third-largest economy is suffering from a recession, is reducing the chances of the Bank of Japan exiting its negative interest rate policy.
The yen is trading below the 150 yen per dollar barrier, despite the Japanese Finance Minister’s warning that he is closely monitoring the movements of the local currency in the foreign exchange market, in the latest verbal intervention by Japan to support the currency against excessive weakness.
Japanese Yen Exchange Rate Today
The dollar rose against the yen by less than 0.1% to ¥150.56, from its opening price of ¥150.50, and hit a low of ¥150.37.
Weekly Trading
Over the course of this week’s trading, which officially ends at today’s price settlement, the Japanese yen is currently down 0.25% against the US dollar, on track for a fourth straight weekly loss.
Gold Gains Strength on Dollar Weakness and War Tensions
Gold prices have been mixed during trading today, Friday, and are on track for their first weekly gain in three weeks, as a weaker US dollar and rising tensions in the Middle East have increased the attractiveness of the yellow metal.
Tensions in the Middle East escalated with the Houthis in Yemen claiming responsibility for an attack on a UK-owned tanker and targeting the port of Eilat with ballistic missiles and drones. At the same time, the dollar index is heading for its first weekly decline in nearly two months, making dollar-denominated bullion cheaper for foreign buyers. However, recent data showing that US consumer and producer prices rose more than expected has dashed hopes of an early interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve and kept gold gains in check.
Gold and Dollar Now
Gold futures are now up 0.04% to $2031 an ounce.
Spot gold is down about 0.11% to $2022 an ounce. But it is up about 0.44% on a weekly basis.
On the other hand, the dollar index is down 0.07% to 103.809 points.
Other Metals
Platinum fell 0.4% in spot trading to $898.05 an ounce, and palladium fell 0.2% to $965.69. Silver rose 0.2% to $22.78 an ounce, but is down 2.6% since the start of the week.
Oil Prices Fall After US Central Bank Official Comments on Interest Rates
Oil prices fell on Friday after a US Federal Reserve (Fed) official said interest rate cuts should be delayed for at least two more months.
Christopher Waller, a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors, said on Thursday that policymakers should delay rate cuts for at least another two months to see if the recent rise in inflation means progress toward price stability is stalling or is just a temporary setback. It is worth noting that keeping interest rates higher for longer slows economic growth, which reduces demand for oil.
The Fed has kept its benchmark interest rate at 5.25-5.5 percent since July last year, and minutes of its policy meeting last month showed that most of its officials are worried about rushing to ease monetary policy. Oil benchmarks pared some of their gains from Thursday after Waller’s comments.
Strong Rise in Nvidia’s Stock by More Than 14% Today
Shares of US chip designer Nvidia jumped sharply on Thursday, leading the Nasdaq technology index to a 2% gain, driven by record quarterly results that boosted stock market optimism about the future of technology and artificial intelligence, which has driven the US stock market to record highs this year.
In this regard, Nvidia revealed that it expects the company’s revenue to nearly triple in the first quarter of this year, after Nvidia posted record profits of $12.3 billion last quarter, a 769% increase, driven by strong demand for its artificial intelligence chips.
As a result of these positive developments, Nvidia’s stock (NasdaqGS: NVDA) jumped 14.34% to $771.50 per share in pre-market trading.
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