Yen Holds as Traders Await Key Economic Data
The Japanese yen traded in a narrow range near 157.8 per dollar on Monday, maintaining this sideways pattern for about two weeks as markets waited for key economic reports scheduled this week.
Important data releases include August figures for wages, the current account, and household spending, along with September updates on consumer confidence and machine tool orders.
Last week, a summary of opinions from the Bank of Japan’s September meeting suggested increasing concern about inflation exceeding the central bank’s 2% target. This raised the possibility of another rate hike this year but left the timing uncertain ahead of policy decisions in October and December.
Meanwhile, the yen faced downward pressure from a strong dollar and higher Treasury yields. Despite weaker-than-expected US jobs data, which eased expectations of further Federal Reserve rate hikes, the yen remained under strain.